Duke basketball: Transfers continue to grab Mike Krzyzewski’s interest

Duke basketball grad transfer Patrick Tape, No. 3 (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
Duke basketball grad transfer Patrick Tape, No. 3 (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)

The graduate transfer market is continuing to pick up steam as the slew of players continues to pique the interest of Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke basketball program.

Duke has reached out to two Ivy League graduate transfers and as of Friday morning that total can be raised to three players.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweeted that Mike Krzyzewski had reached out to Columbia transfer Patrick Tape to show his interest.

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Tape, a 6-foot-10 forward from Charlotte, N.C., sat out the 2019-20 season for Columbia, but in his last played season, he averaged 11.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

As a graduate transfer, Tape would be immediately eligible, but he is also considering USC, Syracuse, and Ohio State.

Duke is also in a battle with Ohio State over Harvard graduate transfer Seth Towns, who has narrowed his list down to those two schools.

Like Tape, Towns also did not play last season and has not played since the 2017-18 season. Unlike Tape, Towns would be eligible for two seasons while Tape would only be in Durham for one.

The Blue Devils have also reached out to Yale graduate transfer Jordan Bruner.

Duke is anticipating losing most of its frontcourt pieces in Vernon Carey Jr., Javin DeLaurier, Jack White, and Justin Robinson while questions continue to surround Matthew Hurt and his potential return to Durham or a possible exit to the NBA Draft.

ALSO READ: Answer to who stays and goes becomes clearer

Coming into the program are big men Mark Williams and Henry Coleman, but as they will only be freshmen, experienced big men would prove to be beneficial for the Blue Devils.

No commitment date has been set for Jordan Bruner or Patrick Tape, but Seth Towns tweeted that a decision would be coming this week.

ALSO READ: Blue Devils make final two for top graduate transfer

Duke’s 2020-21 roster is still a major work in progress, but Mike Krzyzewski seems determined to land at least one graduate transfer for his team next season.