After a brief stretch where things were relatively quiet around Duke's roster, Jon Scheyer has been cooking over the past few days. He landed a commitment from Belmont transfer Drew Scharnowski, a great depth option in the frontcourt. On Monday, Patrick Ngongba II announced his intentions to return for his junior year, marking another huge win for Scheyer. And now, Duke has officially landed one of the biggest targets in the portal in John Blackwell.
That may not be the end of Duke's portal activity, as they may continue to explore other options to solidify the frontcourt. At the same time, the possibility of losing another Blue Devil to the portal remains, as the Transfer Portal does not close until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, with schools allowed up to 48 hours after the deadline to process paperwork, leaving the door open for late entries.
Even with that uncertainty still in play, one player who could have been a transfer candidate has officially announced his return to Duke:
Bass is back‼️👿 pic.twitter.com/W8HSE1ezov
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) April 21, 2026
Sebastian Wilkins' return strengthens Duke's depth heading into next season
Roster retention has become extremely difficult in today's era of the Transfer Portal and NIL. However, Jon Scheyer has been putting on a clinic in that regard in recent years, and retaining Sebastian Wilkins is just the latest example of that. In doing so, it gives Duke another intriguing piece off the bench heading into next season.
Wilkins was originally slated to be in the class of 2026 before reclassifying to the class of 2025, where he was ranked No. 47 by 247Sports following the move. Despite barely cracking the top 50 in the 2025 class, there was speculation he could have climbed into the top 10 of the 2026 class had he remained in his original cycle.
That decision to come to Duke a year early allowed Wilkins to develop with limited pressure, and that could end up paying dividends for Scheyer. With Wilkins set to return, he could very well become a consistent contributor for the Blue Devils next season.
The 6-foot-8 forward arrived at Duke as a 4-star recruit and was widely viewed as a long-term developmental piece. Still, Wilkins provides a lot of versatility with his game. He can step out and knock down the three, put the ball on the floor, and get downhill, while his length and athleticism give him the tools to guard multiple positions on defense.
Keeping Wilkins in Durham gives Scheyer another versatile piece to work with as he continues to shape next year's roster. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the roster shapes up, as it is still far from finished. But based on the early returns, Scheyer has to be salivating at the potential lineup combinations he can put together next season.
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