The three standout performers from Duke basketball team scrimmages
By Matt Giles
Stars of the Duke basketball scrimmages: Jeremy Roach
While talking to the media this week, sophomore small forward Wendell Moore may have characterized Jeremy Roach better than anyone by pointing out the overriding similarities between the freshman point guard and the Duke great he is replacing in 2019-20 ACC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Tre Jones:
“The thing that both Tre and Jeremy have is that ultimate competitive spirit. They make everybody else around them better because all they want to do is win no matter how many points they score or how many assists they get. Their main goal is winning. Playing with a point guard like that not only makes me better as a person and our team better, but it ultimately can make them better.”
Moore’s observations are certainly evident in Roach’s recent performances. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound former five-star prep out of Virginia was at his best last Friday, leading all Blue Devils with 22 points, five assists, and 8-for-8 perfection from the foul line.
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But in both scrimmages, it seems the crafty Roach paired his ability to create scoring opportunities in traffic with a shooting stroke that appears to be a touch cleaner than many folks anticipated.