Duke landed the commitment out of the Transfer Portal that fans had been waiting for.
Wisconsin guard John Blackwell, one of the top players available, announced his commitment to Duke on Tuesday following his visit to Durham. Jon Scheyer's pitch was convincing, and now Blackwell will join the Blue Devils and add a significant scoring punch to the backcourt.
Along with several impressive roster retention moves and at least one more to come, Blackwell's addition should give Duke one of the top starting lineups in college basketball. Armed with impressive depth, the Blue Devils should be ready to contend again in 2026-27.
Note: this projection is with the expectation that Cameron Boozer and Isaiah Evans declare for the draft, and Dame Sarr returns for his sophomore season.
Duke's projected starting lineup after the addition of John Blackwell
PG: Cayden Boozer (So.)
If Caleb Foster elects to come back, Duke will have one of the deepest and most talented backcourts in college basketball. With Foster, Blackwell, Cayden Boozer, and Deron Rippey Jr., Scheyer will have four legitimate starting options for two spots.
Based on how he played down the stretch in Foster's absence, I'll project Boozer to take over the starting spot at the point. Foster provides the higher floor, but Boozer gives Duke a higher ceiling.
Boozer was instrumental in Duke capturing the ACC Tournament Championship, delivering back-to-back 16-point performances in wins over Clemson and Virginia. He added a 19-point outing in the NCAA Tournament to help Duke come from behind and beat 16-seeded Siena in the first round. Prior to the late turnover in the Elite Eight against UConn, Boozer had acquitted himself nicely with a Final Four spot on the line.
An offseason of growth, and he may make good on his 5-star potential and become one of the nation's top lead guards.
SG: John Blackwell (Sr.)
With Blackwell at the two, Duke will be a little bit smaller in the backcourt than they were this past season. He's listed at 6-foot-4, and Duke played Evans (6-foot-6) at the two this past season.
What Duke may trade in size, it should make up for with a more well-rounded offensive game. Blackwell can be deadly at all three levels. He shot 48% from two and 39% from three this past season, and should get even more open looks with three capable lead guards next to him.
Blackwell could see some time at the one, but will also likely log some minutes at the three in smaller, three-guard lineups that allow Scheyer to get Foster and/or Rippey on the floor.
SF: Dame Sarr (So.)
Sarr hasn't made his decision official yet, but most experts believe he will ultimately return to Duke for his sophomore year. In his second season, Duke will need Sarr to grow his offensive game to match the fact that he was one of the most tenacious wing defenders in the country.
He shot 32.3% from three this year, and if he can creep that number up closer to 37%, then Sarr will have a massive impact on both ends of the floor and could work himself into the lottery range in the 2027 NBA Draft.
If not, the rising sophomore could be in danger of losing minutes to redshirt freshman Sebastian Wilkins or true freshman Bryson Howard.
PF: Cameron Williams (Fr.)
If Duke is going to add any additional Transfer Portal players, this would be the spot. If not, Scheyer and company likely have plenty of confidence in 5-star Cameron Williams. He might not match the impact of generational freshmen Cooper Flagg or Cameron Boozer, but Williams is an impressive two-way player in his own right and the No. 3 overall recruit in the 2026 class, per the 247 composite.
Belmont transfer Drew Scharnowski could log some minutes at the four, too, though smart money is probably on him functioning more as the backup five. Sarr could also shift up to the four spot in smaller lineups when the Blue Devils want to play three guards.
At 6-foot-11, Williams will log some minutes at the five, too, when Duke wants to go small and play more five-out type lineups that can get up and down the floor in a flash.
C: Patrick Ngongba (Jr.)
The counting stats may not show it, but there aren't many college basketball players returning next season across the country who are as impactful as Patrick Ngongba.
He was Duke's second most important player behind Boozer this past season. He averaged 10.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, and put up a 9.4 BPM (box plus-minus). He was a two-way force for the Blue Devils. An elite offensive rebounder and lob threat on offense, and the anchor of one of the nation's top defenses.
There's a world in which Ngongba is the MVP of Duke next season, and his ability to stay healthy could be the difference between cutting down the nets or more crushing tournament disappointment.
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