Duke basketball: 3 signs Patrick Baldwin Jr. might choose Blue Devils

A sign of Duke basketball hope: Transfers at Patrick Baldwin Jr.’s position

Perhaps former Duke basketball freshman forwards Henry Coleman and Jaemyn Brakefield, who each entered the transfer portal within the past month, left in part because they had a hunch Patrick Baldwin Jr. will become a Blue Devil. Maybe the same goes for Patrick Tape, a graduate senior who has also opted to transfer out of Durham.

Seeing that both Coleman and Brakefield arrived at Duke as mere four-star recruits and then each averaged less than 13 minutes of action per game last season, it would make sense if the potential addition of Baldwin contributed to their decisions to seek greener pastures elsewhere.

One would think they too noticed the Baldwin hype on social media from Paolo Banchero & Co.

And now pairing their departures with the fact that sophomore forward Matthew Hurt recently declared for the 2021 NBA Draft with the intent of hiring an agent, it stands to reason that Baldwin envisions plenty of potential minutes up for grabs.

As for the 2021-22 Duke basketball starting five, well, seemingly only a couple of pieces are set in stone.

ALSO READ: Predicting Duke’s starting lineup next season

With all this in mind, it’s certainly conceivable that Baldwin might now be able to picture himself starring alongside two fellow five-star freshman forwards in Paolo Banchero and AJ Griffin.

Meanwhile, the wait continues for Patrick Baldwin Jr.’s decision to just suddenly pop up.