Last season was, at times, certainly frustrating for Sebastian Wilkins. He was a Top 40 recruit out of high school, but didn't play at all as he took a redshirt year to develop. He was a guy many thought could explore a potential transfer after the season, but he stayed the course, put his head down, and worked.
That appears to be paying dividends not only for him, but for Duke. Coming into the preseason, it was difficult to project Wilkins' role with the embarrassment of riches Jon Scheyer has had at his disposal with such a loaded roster.
But the first exhibition matchup on Thursday night against Belmont showed that Wilkins will have a role on this team. Perhaps a big one.
Wilkins was the first player off the bench for Duke in the preseason opener, and he wasted no time making an impact. He made an extra pass to hit an open Cayden Boozer for a corner three on the first possession he was in the game. Back on the defensive end, Wilkins came up with a steal.
The 6-foot-8 wing made good on the praise he received from Dame Sarr at ACC Media Days earlier in the week. He scored 8 points, grabbed 6 rebounds (4 offensive), and came up with 2 steals in Duke's 40-point blowout win.
Jon Scheyer was impressed and unsurprised with Sebastian Wilkins' performance vs. Belmont
Duke fans may have been surprised by the performance of Wilkins on Thursday night. Scheyer was not. Because he's been seeing Wilkins' activity in practice. He put in the work over the last year to position himself for a role, and he looks set to contribute in a big way for the Blue Devils this season.
“Sebastian’s really used that year in the best way because he understands what we’re looking for,” Scheyer told reporters after the game. “He’s a great connector on offense; he’s a versatile defender. He had four offensive rebounds tonight. He just does a lot of the little things even though they’re not little. Sebastian does all of it. He took 10 shots tonight, but he’s not out there to score, either. He can, but I just think he does a nice job impacting winning and building trust with me throughout the practices. He’s earned the minutes he got tonight, and he’ll keep building.”
At 6-foot-8, Wilkins adds some length and versatility to Duke's lineup. He's going to scrap and do the things that don't necessarily show up in the box score to help the Blue Devils win. That's going to earn him minutes. It's the fastest way to earn Scheyer's trust.
Even if his three-point shot doesn't come around this season, his ability to steal extra possessions with his effort will be pivotal. While everyone figured Drew Scharnowski would step into the Maliq Brown role for Duke this season, perhaps it'll be Wilkins instead.
For the redshirt freshman, he was just happy to finally be out there playing after a year on the bench.
“It just felt good being out there, playing in front of the fans, playing with my teammates finally after a long year; it just felt good,” Wilkins said.
Obviously, Duke will have two additional players to add to the rotation with Scharnowski and Caleb Foster currently sidelined. But Wilkins being the first player off the bench against Belmont wasn't an accident. It points to him playing a sizeable role for the Blue Devils.
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