Probabilities of each Duke basketball player leaving after season
By Matt Johnson
Probabilities of Duke basketball players leaving: The 30 percent club
- G – Jeremy Roach (So.)
Yes, Jeremy Roach should be back. But the Big Dance does weird things sometimes.
Roach is doing what he did last season and getting hot at the right time. Once he picked up his third foul in the ACC Championship loss to Virginia Tech, it was apparent how lost the Duke offense had become without him.
He has kept up with his scoring at 8.4 points per game, mirroring the 8.1 points he averaged last season. Yet Roach’s limited turnovers make him crucial to this team’s success in March.
Roach is also an excellent on-ball defender.
And all the above traits are why I think Coach Scheyer will want him to be the team’s leader next year. Roach has the attitude coaches desire and can command a squad on the floor given the minutes.
As previously mentioned here, there could be a lack of bodies in the Duke backcourt next season, and Roach can step into a ready-made role.
However, if Jeremy Roach has a magical tournament run and leads the Blue Devils to a title — a la Tyus Jones in 2015 — he may have general managers calling him sooner than anticipated.