This offseason within the Duke basketball program could not have been more different for Jon Scheyer after he saw a mass exodus last spring from his roster and seven players enter the transfer portal after making a run to the Elite 8.
However, things improved in Durham despite the massive roster turnover with another ACC Tournament championship and a trip to the Final Four, becoming one of four teams not to have a single scholarship player enter the portal this offseason.
While the incoming players were reaching levels of efficiency and effectiveness that had not been seen in the history of data driven analytics in college basketball, its outgoing players did not see the same success leaving the Blue Devils.
Three of its transfers entered the portal again while two players exhausted all of their eligibility and two remained with their current program.
Jeremy Roach and Jaylen Blakes
Former captain Jeremy Roach and Jaylen Blakes saw their college careers end this season and for Roach it unfortunately came at the hands of the Blue Devils in the Round of 32 during the NCAA Tournament.
It was an up-and-down season for Roach with the Bears, averaging just 10.0 points per game and only playing in 29 games, starting 18. It was the fewest points he has averaged in a season since his sophomore season at Duke.
After the hype around his recruitment, rumored NIL deal, and fit with a talented Baylor roster, things didn’t unfold the way many expected in Waco, Texas for the program in a disappointing year.
Now, Roach will try and make a professional career for himself whether it’s in the NBA, G-League, or overseas.
Jaylen Blakes arguably had the most success of any player who transferred out of Duke last season after landing with Stanford. The three-year Blue Devil set career highs across the board with 13.1 points and 31.1 minutes per game and continued to thrive in the classroom by furthering his education.
While his team didn’t have much success in terms of its record, Blakes’ buzzer beater against North Carolina in Chapel Hill was one of the bright spots for the Cardinal.