Allen Graves Update: Elite transfer big gives Duke extra hope out of nowhere

It would seem that Duke’s roster is nearly set in stone for the 2026-27 season, but suddenly, there’s hope that Jon Scheyer could fill his final roster spot with one of the top-ranked uncommitted transfers in the country, Allen Graves. 

After starring off the bench for Santa Clara in his freshman season, the 6-foot-9 forward has been going through the NBA Draft process and has until May 27 to withdraw and return to college. When he declared for the draft, Graves also entered the Transfer Portal, and according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, Duke is one of two schools he’s had conversations with. 

Allen Graves has had conversations with Duke, could be final roster piece

On Wednesday, Isiaah Evans confirmed that he will be staying in the 2026 NBA Draft and will not be returning to Duke for a junior season. The once one-and-done hopeful spent two years in Durham, but almost no matter his draft stock coming out of the Combine this week in Chicago, his college career is over. 

Duke may not fill that roster spot, and with A+ portal pickups in John Blackwell and Drew Scharnowski, and some of the most impressive roster retention in the country, Scheyer doesn’t need to add another piece to field a championship-caliber roster. 

Still, if Graves doesn’t get the first-round guarantee he appears to be after this week, it would be hard to say no. A 6-foot-9, 225-pound, he’s a three-level scorer with a knockdown three-point shot and on-ball playmaking chops. Plus, he’s a disruptive defender, averaging nearly a block and almost two steals in just 22.9 minutes per game last season. After two years of coming so close to his first title as the Blue Devils' head coach, Graves could be the piece that finally helps Scheyer get over the hump in March. 

That impressive profile will likely make Graves a first-round pick, so it may be a moot point. But Graves mentioning Duke as one of the two schools he’s been in contact with is a sliver of hope that didn’t exist even just two days ago, when Borzello said, “I doubt they're still really pursuing him at this point."

Now, that may still be true. Graves saying that he’s had conversations with Duke does not mean those conversations are still ongoing. Graves would further crowd a front court that has Patrick Ngongba II coming back to play center, and has Scharnowski and five-star freshman Cameron Williams both slotted to log major minutes. 

Not to mention that if Graves withdraws, LSU would push hard to land him because Will Wade has struggled to fill out his roster after leaving NC State for a second stint in Baton Rouge. So, it wouldn't be a sure thing that he'd choose the Blue Devils. It's a long shot that Duke pulls off this reverse Cedric Coward a year after the highly-touted transfer spurned Scheyer for the NBA, but if it somehow comes to fruition, it wouldn't be prohibitive, but Duke would enter the year as the clear favorite to win it all.

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