After last week’s additions to the frontcourt, the only glaring hole on Duke’s 2021-22 roster, at least as it stands today, was at point guard. Duke struggled to get consistent production from the lead guard spot last season and while neither Jeremy Roach nor Wendell Moore have yet announced any intentions to leave Durham, there was certainly room for another player capable of filling minutes at the position. On Monday afternoon, the void was filled when four-star guard Jaylen Blakes became the fourth member of Duke’s 2021 recruiting class. He officially committed to the Blue Devils just one week after receiving an offer from the coaching staff. With minutes to be had at the guard positions, Blakes is likely to be a factor in Duke’s rotation right away.
Blakes, the 86th-ranked 2021 prospect according to ESPN, had plenty of other power conference offers on the table before Duke swooped in. He attended the same high school, Blair Academy, as former Blue Devil Luol Deng and was the winningest player in program history. Jaylen is an intriguing prospect offensively, but his defensive ability is what will matter the most early on in his Duke career as he attempts to carve out a role. He has been reported to have 6’8” wingspan despite standing just 6’2” and should give Duke a reliable defensive option at guard if Roach cannot show significant improvements from his freshman season on that end. By all accounts, Blakes is a hard-working young man and should have no problem finding a spot in Duke’s rotation next season.
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| Jaylen Blakes has a chance to play a key role in Duke's guard rotation. Source: Blue Devil Nation |
Unfortunately for Duke, the recent history with players in this range of the recruiting rankings isn’t very favorable. While the expectation would be for signees outside of the top 40 to stay at the same school for multiple years and blossom into starting-caliber players as upperclassmen, the examples of this are growing fewer and further between with each passing season. Duke’s recent track record of player development is about as bleak as it gets, which is especially disappointing from a program that used to be so reliant on star juniors and seniors. Not many guys are hanging around the program for four years lately, and those that are aren’t developing to anything more than role players.
Duke’s recent developmental failures don’t spell doom and gloom for Blakes, however. The program is “championship or bust” every season these days as Coach K’s career winds down, and Jaylen is filling a specific role on a team that will presumably start the season ranked in the top ten yet again this year. Sophomore Jeremy Roach will most likely be the starting point guard to start the season, but that doesn’t mean he can’t lose minutes. After all, Roach started 18 of 24 games this past season and still found himself either relegated to off-ball duties or on the bench entirely for important stretches. Jordan Goldwire played 28.5 minutes per game on last year’s team just by playing mistake free on offense and shining on the defensive end. If Blakes comes in right away and earns Coach K’s trust on both sides, he could find himself playing in plenty of big spots.
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