Duke basketball’s top 10 role players of the last decade

The best Duke basketball role players since 2010: Jordan Goldwire

Jordan Goldwire is the only current Duke basketball player to make the cut. Goldwire wasn’t even considered an “under the radar” type of player coming out of high school. He wasn’t even on the radar. Duke was Goldwire’s only high major/power five offer coming out of high school. His only other offers came from Eastern Kentucky, Coastal Carolina, and Belmont.

Eastern Kentucky had been recruiting Goldwire for months and the coaching staff expected a commitment until Duke swooped in late and picked up the commitment. Coach K and the rest of the staff had never even seen the three-star play live.

Goldwire hardly ever saw the court during his freshman season playing behind Trevon Duval. It wasn’t expected that he would be a huge factor in his sophomore season either playing behind Tre Jones. He continued to ride the bench until later in the season.

Goldwire’s breakout moment as a sophomore came against Louisville. Duke was struggling mightily in a very difficult environment. The Blue Devils were down the whole game and found themselves down by over 20 in the second half. Once Goldwire was inserted in the game, the tide turned almost immediately. His defense helped create turnovers for Duke, which led to some easy baskets. Duke eventually pulled off the miraculous comeback to win.

Ever since the miracle at Louisville, Goldwire has seen consistent playing time. He played key minutes in the 2019 ACC and NCAA tournament, solidifying his place in the rotation moving forward. Goldwire took a huge step forward in his junior year. He went from playing just over 8.5 minutes per game his sophomore season to 24.1 as a junior. He also started 15 games after starting none both his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Goldwire is not the type of player to drop 30 points, make the highlight reels, or win games by himself. But he played a key role in helping Duke win 25 games last season. He allowed Tre Jones to play off the ball and showed the ability to effectively run the offense.

His specialty, though, is his on-ball defense. Goldwire is a smothering defender with quick feet, long arms, active hands, and great at forcing the opposing ballhandlers to dribble east and west rather than north and south.

Before the start of the 2019-2020 season, it was unclear how much of an impact Goldwire would make with the return of Tre Jones and the arrival of Cassius Stanley and Wendell Moore. However, it was Goldwire who became a staple in the rotation and finished fourth on the team in minutes.

Goldwire also consistently shows great body language and enthusiasm on the court. He loves to jump up in the air before a teammate throws down a big dunk. Goldwire is not a flashy player or a guy who will have his No. 14 jersey hung up in the rafters, but his ability to star in his role allows for other more talented players to do what they do best. I am excited to see what Jordan Goldwire has in store for the upcoming season.

Goldwire is entering his final season at Duke and will likely compete with incoming freshman Jeremy Roach for the starting point guard position. He earned his right to be the starting point guard based on his play last year and will likely share the duties with Roach.