Duke basketball: Coach K adds some serious muscle to 2021-22 roster

The Duke basketball coaches have reeled in an ideal piece to fill one need.

Granted, former four-year Marquette forward Theo John is by no means a lethal scorer. Furthermore, the 6-foot-9, 255-pound muscleman has a tendency to attract foul trouble while battling for rebounds and defending opposing bruisers. Nonetheless, his tweeted commitment on Friday to the Duke basketball program is essentially just what the doctor ordered in Durham.

John is a former three-star recruit who ranked No. 204 overall on the 247Sports 2017 Composite. With a birthday coming up in August, he will be 23 years old by the time he laces ’em up for the Blue Devils, giving the team a strong dose of experience that it previously appeared to lack.

The Minneapolis native now has one season of eligibility remaining thanks to the NCAA’s gift of an extra year to all 2020-21 athletes. And by taking advantage of the opportunity, John certainly provides the 2021-22 Blue Devils some much-needed depth down low after Matthew Hurt announced this week his intention to enter the NBA Draft and sign with an agent.

As a three-year starter under former Duke basketball player and assistant Steve Wojciechowski, whose seven-year run as the Golden Eagles head coach came to an end in March, John significantly improved from one year to the next.

Last season, he averaged 8.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 26.3 minutes per game for a Marquette squad that finished 13-14 overall. Perhaps more importantly, John cut down his foul rate to 4.3 per 40 minutes after marks of 8.5, 7.4, and 5.2, respectively, in his first three years of college.

Ample number of Duke basketball pieces in the paint, for now

With the new addition, barring any further departures, the Blue Devils now look to have four players between the power forward and center positions who should be deserving of considerable playing time next season: sophomore center Mark Williams, sophomore power forward Henry Coleman, freshman power forward Paolo Banchero, and the graduate senior Theo John.

Plus, power forward Bates Jones, a former four-year reserve at Davidson who is the younger brother to former Duke football quarterback Daniel Jones, also unveiled his pledge this week to the 2021-22 Blue Devils.