Duke fans have justifiably been a bit uneasy as star transfer addition John Blackwell goes through the NBA Draft process.
It has invoked memories of last year when Washington State transfer Cedric Coward, a Duke commitment, went through the process and blew up. He elected to stay in the draft, costing the Blue Devils its biggest portal acquisition.
While the situations are drastically different, and Blackwell has not produced nearly the buzz in the draft process as Coward did, it's understandable that Duke fans would be uneasy.
But barring something completely out of the blue, Blackwell will play at Duke next season. His height and negative wingspan pretty much ensured that, despite his impressive three-level scoring ability being on display during scrimmages at the NBA Combine.
Throughout the process, Jon Scheyer has been nothing but supportive, something that Blackwell noted while he was in Chicago.
John Blackwell appreciates the support Jon Scheyer and Duke have shown during pre-draft process
“Me and coach talk often,” Blackwell said. “He tells me to update them on how I did. They always check in with me on how I’m doing, they’ve been really supportive. Obviously, Duke is a program that produces pros like no other, so they know how this process is, and they’ve been with me through this whole process."
Scheyer isn't rushing Blackwell for a decision. He knows one is coming soon enough. The deadline for prospects to exit the NBA Draft and return to college is May 27th at 11:59 pm ET. That's next Wednesday night, though clarity on Blackwell is expected to come sooner than that.
Coming out of the Combine, most mock drafts have still excluded Blackwell entirely. The ones that have had him being selected have typically placed him in the mid-to-late second round range. With eligibility remaining in college, and with what he stands to make playing for Duke, it's a pretty simple decision for the Wisconsin transfer.
And he'll have a chance to raise his stock even more next season. Duke is widely expected to be one of the best teams in college basketball once again. He expects to garner more on-ball opportunities with Duke and will try to improve on the defensive end of the floor to try and position himself as highly as he can for the 2027 draft class.
Scheyer has once again flexed his roster-building prowess this offseason, and how he's handled Blackwell's pre-draft process just goes to show that the Duke head coach knows how to play chess.
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