Duke basketball: Blue Devil gets the boot once again

The past month has been a rollercoaster for a former Duke basketball guard.

On average, life is good for the four five-stars who comprised the 2016 Duke basketball recruiting class.

Jayson Tatum recently inked a five-year, $195 million extension with the Boston Celtics. Harry Giles snagged a one-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers and had promising performances for his new team in the preseason. Marques Bolden responded to his upgraded two-way contract by averaging 5.0 points, 3.8 boards, and 1.5 blocks for the Cleveland Cavaliers across four tune-ups.

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But the other former top-15 prospect in Duke’s No. 1 haul that year is now facing an uncertain future — again. Frank Jackson, who along with Tatum and Giles became one-and-done Blue Devils after the 2016-17 squad flamed out as a No. 2 seed in the Round of 32 against South Carolina, has essentially twice received the boot within the past 30 days.

First, despite Jackson scoring 31 points in the New Orleans Pelicans’ 2019-20 season finale, the franchise didn’t tender a qualifying offer to the restricted free agent in late November. However, the former No. 31 overall draft pick quickly found a new home with the Oklahoma City Thunder, who landed the 6-foot-3 combo guard with a two-year minimum-salary deal ($250K guaranteed).

Yet even though Jackson totaled 37 points in three preseason outings, the Thunder waived the 22-year-old on Monday.

Will the Duke basketball product soon see a chance elsewhere?

Frank Jackson missed his rookie season out of Duke due to a foot injury. Nevertheless, he has since played 120 NBA games, averaging 7.2 points per game at a relatively impressive rate of 15.9 points per 36 minutes.

On the other hand, other areas of Jackson’s box scores have been bleak: averages of 1.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 0.4 steals while shooting only 31.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Granted, Jackson fared much better from deep in his brief college stay (39.5 percent). That said, as a Blue Devil, the Utah native had the same underlying issue that he seems to be dealing with nowadays as a pro. Simply put, he’s a guy who doesn’t quite fit the mold of either a point guard or a shooting guard.

And for that reason, while Jackson surely has a shot to end up with another squad, it’s not at all a sure thing.

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