Duke basketball: Jon Scheyer adds final piece to championship puzzle

Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer added the final piece to the championship puzzle. 

Jon Scheyer got his guy and the Duke basketball team is ready to roll into the 2022-23 season.

The void left by Trevor Keels was noticeable for the Blue Devils and it had to be filled by a veteran presence, preferably who could shoot the ball at a high percentage from 3-point territory.

Duke was reportedly “in play” for Texas transfer Courtney Ramey, according to Stadium college basketball insider Jeff Goodman, but the Blue Devils quickly shifted their interest to Illinois transfer Jacob Grandison once he removed his name from consideration for the 2022 NBA Draft.

Grandison began his visit to Duke on Thursday and it did not take long for the Oakland, California native to commit his allegiance to the Blue Devils as he committed to the program on Saturday afternoon.

The commitment marks the biggest transfer get for Scheyer since being named as the head coach as the 6-foot-6 guard brings a veteran presence from a power conference program and has a shooting stroke that will flourish on the soft rims of Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Jacob Grandison started his career at Holy Cross and spent two seasons with the Crusaders before making the jump to the Fighting Illini.

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Grandison has the ability to play at Duke after using his four years of eligibility through the extra season granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Throughout his career, Grandison is a 37.0-percent shooter from beyond the arc but shot a scorching 41.5-percent and 41.0-percent in his two seasons at Illinois, respectively.

Jacob Grandison averaged 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assist per game

Duke has also landed Northwestern power forward Ryan Young and Harvard small forward Kale Catchings out of the transfer portal this offseason.

Duke basketball transfer could start opening night

Jacob Grandison was also considering UCLA, USC, BYU, DePaul, Arizona, Iowa State, Michigan, Kentucky, and Oregon before opting to commit to Duke.

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Those schools could also offer Grandison a chance to start on its roster but the Blue Devils could surround him with the most talent in that starting five.

Duke boasts the top ranked recruiting class entering the 2022-23 season, led by five-star commits Dereck Lively, Kyle Filipowski, and Dariq Whitehead, while returning star point guard Jeremy Roach for his senior season.