Duke basketball lands key role player from National Championship contender

Now, the Duke basketball program is getting on a roll in the transfer portal with its second addition in three days following the commitment from Purdue forward Mason Gillis.

Gillis made the announcement on social media Monday afternoon after visitng the Blue Devils last week.

He joins Syracuse transfer Maliq Brown to commit to Duke after seven players departed the team via the portal.

Gillis, a 6-foot-6 forward, has played in 132 games in his career with the Boilermakers, starting 63, but was never in the starting lineup this season while averaging 6.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game on 46.8-percent shooting (58-of-124) from 3-point range.

Gillis was named as the Big Ten's Sixth Man of the Year and an Honorable Mention selection to the All-Big Ten Team this season.

He went scoreless in the National Championship Game against UConn, missing both shots he attempted. He did not score in three of six NCAA Tournament games this year for Purdue, but that's not the strength of his game.

Mason Gillis will provide Duke with a toughness and defensive intensity, most likely off the bench. Jon Scheyer is starting to build his roster with elite defenders that have a high up-side offensively.

75-percent of Gillis' shot attempts were 3-pointers this season.

Gillis scored eight points in 14 minutes when Duke played Purdue in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament Championship two years ago.

There are three open scholarships remaining for the Blue Devils, who still need to add at least one more guard who can handle the basketball behind returning starters Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster. Duke already has the No. 1 incoming recruiting class.

The Blue Devils now have a Top-40 transfer portal class, according to 247Sports.

Expect Jon Scheyer to add more talent later in the offseason to Duke's roster.