The Duke Blue Devils have their point guard for 2017-18 after 5-star recruit Trevon Duval committed.
Just days after rising sophomore Frank Jackson announced his intentions to forgo his collegiate eligibility and stay in the NBA Draft, Duke has landed his replacement.
Point guard Trevon Duval, a 5-star recruit, committed to the Blue Devils on Monday morning he announced via The Players’ Tribune.
The No. 5 ranked Duval was the second highest rated recruit left on the board, according to 247Sports. He is also the top-ranked lead guard in the 2017 class.
The 6-foot-3 point guard shores up the biggest need for Duke entering the 2017-18 season. With Jackson gone, the Blue Devils needed to lock down a Duval commitment to give themselves a ball-dominant point guard for the first time since Tyus Jones handled those duties in 2014-15.
Duval brings a special skill set to the position. He is an elite athlete with plenty to of highlight reel finishes under his belt. He is also a very capable distributor who can set the table for his teammates. Duval’s biggest weakness is his jump shot, but that should be mitigated by the fact that he’ll frequently be playing with the ball in his hands and the presence of fellow freshman Gary Trent Jr. and returning senior Grayson Allen.
Duval joins Trent (No. 16), Wendell Carter (No. 6) and three other prospects to form the nation’s No. 2 ranked recruiting class, per 247Sports.
Duke’s starting lineup for 2017-18 will likely feature Duval as the point guard, Trent as the shooting guard, Allen at small forward, Carter at power forward and returning sophomore Marques Bolden at the center spot. Bolden opted to come back to school after playing just 6.5 minutes per game last season behind Amile Jefferson and Harry Giles.
The Blue Devils’ youth movement will be reminiscent of the 2015 team that won a national championship behind the play of Jones, Justise Winslow and Jahlil Okafor.