The three standout performers from Duke basketball team scrimmages

Stars of the Duke basketball scrimmages: Jordan Goldwire

This week, Nate James perfectly summed up the inspiring Duke career of all-purpose guard Jordan Goldwire, who is now the lone fourth-year Blue Devil after coming to Durham as the lone three-star and lowest-ranked member of a seven-deep class at No. 398 on the 247Sports 2017 Composite:

“I made a few feeler calls looking for a guard that can really lead the Blue [scout] team, someone who has the athletic makeup to push our starters in practice and maybe eventually be a solid player in our program. Freshman year, we believe Jordan did that, but he was young…His first couple of years, he was just OK…I think a lightbulb went off…”

James continued:

“And then junior year, he not only was good enough, but he helped us win some big-time games. I’m very proud of his effort, going from a player that was not highly touted to someone that became a starter. No one would have ever expected this, but he’s our leading returning player in minutes played. Kudos to him and his hard work. We’re going to need him to have a great year…”

One look at either set of scrimmage highlights — see the first scrimmage above and second below — shows that Goldwire should be an integral piece to the 2020-21 Duke puzzle. Sometimes, he’ll need to run the show at point guard. Other times, he’ll need to serve as a trusty veteran sidekick to freshman floor general Jeremy Roach or freshman combo guard DJ Steward.

Now, it sure looks as if the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Georgia product has picked up where he left off as a relentless, refined perimeter defender. On top of that, though, Goldwire’s 19 points and scrimmage-high seven assists on Friday night suggest there is now significantly more value in his offense.

In the end, reliable offensive production from Goldwire could turn out to be the most important ingredient in making these Blue Devils a force to be reckoned with come March.

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