Jeremy Roach became one of the biggest additions to the transfer portal when he announced he would be leaving the Duke basketball program on Tuesday night and teams quickly lined up for his services.
St. John's, Kentucky, and Arkansas were thought of as the three main favorites for the two-time Duke captain but that changed dramatically on Thursday when multiple reports surfaced that Baylor emerged as the main contender for Roach.
It was later revealed by Trilly Donovan, the anonymous social media college basketball insider, that Baylor would be paying the former Blue Devil a whopping $1.5 million in Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) money.
It would be one of the largest amounts of money that a basketball player has received in the current NIL era.
Roach, however, refuted that on social media.
Man I wish smh… 😭🤦🏾♂️ https://t.co/l584jjfEQh
— iam_jr20 (@Jeremyroach10) April 19, 2024
The reports of an influx in money around the Baylor program comes a week after Scott Drew turned down the Kentucky head coaching job to stay in Waco with promises of a higher salary and more NIL money to attract high-end talent.
Mission (perhaps) accomplished.
Drew saw Jeremy Roach score 18 points against Baylor this season as Duke defeated the Bears at Madison Square Garden in December, which he shot 5-for-9 from the floor.
Roach averaged 14.0 points per game this season on 42.9-percent shooting from 3-point range. He also declared for the 2024 NBA Draft but is not expected to remain in the pool of prospects, similar to how he returned to Duke after his junior year.
The returns of Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster was the biggest reason for the departure of Roach from the Blue Devils.
Baylor is also expected to land Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo and should be a Top-10 team in the preseason rankings.
Duke has seen six players depart the program to the transfer portal, including Roach, with the decisions of Mark Mitchell, Christian Reeves, TJ Power, Jaylen Blakes, and Jaden Schutt.