The most underrated offseason addition made by Jon Scheyer for Duke was Belmont transfer Drew Scharnowski. He didn't get the publicity of Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell or that of the much-ballyhooed high school recruiting class.
And yet, when we look back on the season in retrospect, Scharnowski may have made as big of an impact on winning games as any player Duke added, or any that returned from last season's squad.
Of course, he's got to get healthy first.
Scharnowski is dealing with a knee injury that has caused him to miss some practice time and will keep him out of Duke's exhibition opener tomorrow night against his former Belmont team. But Duke remains optimistic that he'll be ready to go when the games matter. And when he gets back, Scheyer knows the level of impact he can make:
“When Drew Scharnowski gets back, I guarantee you, you’ll see a lot of Drew and Pat together because his impact on winning is the real deal," Scheyer told The Field of 68 at ACC Media Days.
Jon Scheyer expects Patrick Ngongba and Drew Scharnowski to be on the court together for Duke
The most interesting tidbit is Scheyer saying that Scharnowski and Ngongba will play "a lot" together. Most assumed that Scharnowski would be Duke's primary backup five, providing an insurance policy for the oft-injured junior big man.
But Scheyer believes the two bigs can - and will - play together. That could open up the possibility of Scharnowski entering the starting lineup next to Ngongba, which would then put both Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and Cameron Williams on the bench. That might make the most sense, with the two freshmen needing some time to develop and adjust.
It has been assumed that Boumtje Boumtje and Williams were competing for the starting spot next to Ngongba in the frontcourt. One of them - or possibly both, depending on Ngongba's status for the Belmont game after getting stitches after taking a shot in the Countdown to Craziness scrimmage - could start on Thursday night.
But Scharnowski's presence, when healthy, should allow the two freshmen to come along at their own pace. Duke won't have to put too much on their plates right away. That's a luxury that not many teams in the country have.
Duke's exhibition opener is tomorrow night at Cameron Indoor against Belmont at 7 pm ET and will be streamed live on the ACC Network Extra.
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