Duke basketball: Alex O’Connell shockingly enters the transfer portal

The Duke basketball roster is a fluid, evolving door as junior guard Alex O’Connell has entered the transfer portal with the intention to leave Durham.

The past 30 hours surrounding the Duke basketball program have been very hectic, to say the least, and that’s without the Blue Devils playing their first two games in the NCAA Tournament.

Mike Krzyzewski first talked about the news of Tre Jones, Vernon Carey Jr., and Cassius Stanley entering the NBA Draft on Friday. Jones did then officially declare for the draft on Saturday afternoon, and the top-graduate transfer, Seth Towns, will be deciding between Duke and Harvard on Saturday night on ESPN at 11:00 pm EST.

And then the shocking news was first reported by Verbal Commits that junior guard Alex O’Connell has entered the transfer portal with the intention of leaving the Blue Devils.

O’Connell has been with the Blue Devils for three seasons and most recently played in 29 games, averaging 5.2 points and 2.2 rebounds per game on 40.5 percent shooting from the field and 27.3 percent from 3-point range.

https://twitter.com/Alex_OC11/status/1241454755911798786

For his Duke career, the Rosewell, Georgia native averaged 4.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per game with a 43.7 shooting percentage and 36.1 percent from 3-point territory.

O’Connell’s expertise coming into Duke was shooting from deep, and while that was hit-or-miss throughout his Duke career, he could never carve out a serious role in his time in Durham.

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The most confusing part of O’Connell’s transfer is that he is not a graduate transfer and would have to sit out for a season, unless he gets a wavier from the NCAA, wherever he ends up.

Many things could have forced O’Connell to leave the Blue Devils, such as that lack of consistent minutes, Joey Baker returning, the six incoming freshmen, the potential of bringing back Wendell Moore among others, and the interest of adding graduate transfers.

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This news could also hint at a potential return from freshman Cassius Stanley, which would be a major delight to Duke fans.

During his high school recruitment, Alex O’Connell visited Louisville and Syracuse, although it would be extremely unlikely for the Duke transfer to land at an ACC school.