Duke basketball hosting former McDonald’s All-American on transfer visit

The Duke basketball team is targeting another transfer portal big man. 

There is one scholarship remaining for the Duke basketball program after Jeremy Roach announced he would be returning to the Blue Devils for his senior season and the vacancy might be quickly filled by Jon Scheyer.

Duke will be hosting Kansas transfer Ernest Udeh Jr. on a visit beginning on Tuesday, according to multiple reports.

Udeh Jr. is a former McDonald’s All-American who did not see significant minutes during his only season with the Jayhawks.

The 6-foot-11, 250 pound native of Orlando, Florida played in 30 games last season but only averaged 8.3 minutes, 2.6 points, and 1.8 rebounds per contest.

ALSO READ: Jayson Tatum delivers best ever Game 7 performance

Duke has been scouring the transfer portal to add a rim protector next to Ryan Young after the departure of Dereck Lively to the NBA Draft but Virginia transfer Kaden Shedrick committed to Texas before visiting Duke and Utah Valley transfer Aziz Bandogo is a two-time transfer and would need a wavier from the NCAA to be eligible immediately.

Duke basketball transfer target’s late entry to portal

Many thought that Ernest Udeh Jr. entering the transfer portal was a sign that former Blue Devil signee Mackenzie Mgbako would be joining the Jayhawks after he trimmed his list down to two schools; Kansas and Indiana.

However, Mgbako committed to Indiana but Kansas was still able to land Michigan transfer Hunter Dickinson earlier in the offseason as he will command the vast majority of minutes at the center position.

ALSO READ: Ex-signee Mackenzie Mgbako announces decision

Duke, along with Roach, is retaining Tyrese Proctor, Mark Mitchell, and Kyle Filipowski from last year’s team and adding four 5-star freshmen in Caleb Foster, Jared McCain, TJ Power, and Sean Stewart.

The Blue Devils are projected to be one of the best teams in the country going into next season, even without a true rim protector, but adding a player with the potential like Udeh Jr. only would solidify Duke’s contender status.