Hand in glove. That is how it feels with John Blackwell coming over from Wisconsin. The Duke Blue Devils have gotten rave reviews for their offseason acquisition of the former Badgers guard. In Jeff Borzello's latest for ESPN.com, he listed Blackwell as the No. 3 transfer for 2026-27 in men's college basketball. Only Milan Momcilovic and Flory Bidunga got better marks than Blackwell did from him.
Borzello hyped up Blackwell's explosive scoring abilities. He improved every season in Madison, averaging 19.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last winter for Greg Gard. Now that he is making nearly 40-percent of his shots from distance, Blackwell decided to bet on himself as being more of a playmaker and on-ball creator at Duke. He thrived playing off-ball next to Nick Boyd at Wisconsin.
Borzello then shared his outlook of what Blackwell could do now playing for Jon Scheyer at Duke.
"Jon Scheyer desperately needed a big-time scorer on the perimeter, and he landed the best one in the portal with Blackwell," Borzello wrote. "He will have plenty of competition for the role he has said he wants -- more on-ball responsibility -- but completes arguably the deepest perimeter group in the country."
Duke was a talented team a year ago, but a flawed one in construction. The Blue Devils were a bit too frontcourt-centric for their own good down the stretch. They lacked a true go-to scorer out on the wing. Youthfulness and experience got the best of them in the latter stages of the NCAA Tournament. Blackwell's time in the Big Ten, as well as his elite scoring prowess, makes him such a strong addition.
Should the stars align for Blackwell in Durham, he and Scheyer could achieve all they want together.
John Blackwell can help deliver Duke a national title under Jon Scheyer
Because Blackwell has already played so much college hoops in his three years at Wisconsin, his transition into life in the ACC should be rather seamless. To be frank, he has already seen everything playing in his former Power Five conference. The big difference here is Duke is the top dog in its league, whereas Wisconsin has only been upper-middle under its head coach the last several years.
What Duke needs to get over the top is exactly what Blackwell can provide them. The Blue Devils need a guy who can get a bucket from all areas of the floor. Whether it be at the rim, from beyond the arc, or at the charity stripe, all Blackwell does is put his shot attempts through the cylinder. What does need to happen for him is that he has to take on a bigger leadership role with Duke, as well as a distributor.
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Should he be able to feed the rock to the likes of Cayden Boozer, Caleb Foster, and Dame Sarr in the backcourt, Blackwell could be the straw that stirs the drink for the entire operation. Duke should still be strong in the frontcourt with Patrick Ngongba II returning, as well as Drew Scharnowski coming over from Belmont in the transfer portal as well. It is all about having all these pieces come together.
Ultimately, Blackwell had every right to bet on himself. He could have stayed in Madison for one more season, hoping for the Badgers to get into the second weekend of the tournament. Not to say that is guaranteed to happen at Duke, but the Blue Devils are on a shortlist of teams that can realistically win it all. With a bigger stage comes a bigger opportunity. Blackwell should be able to make the most of it.
Duke has not always been the biggest player in the transfer portal, but it smartly picked up Blackwell.
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