With the off-season news coming in at a slower rate than it was just a month ago, I thought it’d be a good opportunity to take a look back at Duke’s outgoing transfers and what to expect from them in the 2021-22 season. While we covered each roster move in detail in the real time, none of the players declared their new team right away, and thus we weren’t able to project anything based off their landing spot. With all four of the former Blue Devils’ destinations secured, let’s take a look at what we can anticipate from them.
Jaemyn Brakefield: Mississippi
Following an inconsistent freshman season at Duke, Brakefield decided to return to his home state of Mississippi to continue his collegiate career. In 2020-21, Ole Miss went 16-12, including ten wins in the SEC, but failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Like most programs, they’ve had their fair share of player movement this off-season. With the dust mostly settled, there appears to be an opportunity for Brakefield to play a key role immediately for the Rebels. Two frontcourt starters from last season, Romello White and KJ Buffen, won’t be returning to Oxford. The same goes for Khadim Sy, a starter for Ole Miss in the 2019-20 season who battled knee injuries throughout the 2020-21 campaign. There are also losses in the backcourt, including last season’s leading scorer, Devontae Shuler, who’ll be pursuing professional opportunities along with White.
The only rotational pieces that are returning in the frontcourt are Robert Allen, who started 8 games last season after transferring from Samford, and Sammy Hunter, a 6’9” forward who hasn’t made much of an impact in his two seasons for the Rebels. Duke fans may remember Miami center Nysier Brooks, who’ll be joining Brakefield in transferring to Ole Miss. The two figure to have a great shot of coming in and starting immediately for head coach Kermit Davis. It’s unlikely Ole Miss will contend for a conference championship in 2021-22, as the SEC looks to be very strong yet again. However, a tournament berth isn’t out of the conversation, and Brakefield will get plenty of chances to go head-to-head with the plethora of talented forwards in the conference. With the disappointment of his first year behind him, Jaemyn will have a great chance in Oxford to play a hefty amount of minutes – something he wouldn’t have done at Duke this year – and try to work his way back onto the radar of NBA scouts.
Original coverage of transfer: https://savedukebasketball.blogspot.com/2021/03/2-jaemyn-brakefield-enters-transfer.html
Jordan Goldwire: Oklahoma
After their run in the NCAA Tournament was halted by the eventual runners-up Gonzaga Bulldogs, the Oklahoma program saw an upheaval that few teams could match this off-season. Just a few days after the loss, head coach Lon Kruger announced his retirement, and seven of the ten players who logged at least 100 minutes in the 2020-21 season would follow him soon after. The biggest hole was left at point guard by senior Austin Reaves, the proverbial heart and soul of the team who declared for the NBA draft. Umoja Gibson and Elijah Harkless, both 2020 transfers from smaller schools, were the only backcourt players returning, and neither had previously shown the ability to play lead guard for a power conference team. There were plenty of minutes to go around in the projected rotation of new coach Porter Moser.
Insert Jordan Goldwire, who, after four years of playing the role of defensive specialist, is yearning for the chance to run a team. Such a chance he never would’ve gotten under Mike Krzyzewski. Don’t get me wrong, Coach K loved Jordan and would’ve found ways to get him on the floor plenty during the 2021-22 season. But Jordan wanted be the lead guard, and that simply wasn’t in Duke’s plans. Goldwire isn’t the only incoming transfer for the Sooners; he’ll be joined by brothers Tanner and Jacob Groves of Eastern Washington as well as SMU’s Ethan Chargois. Most of the Sooners’ rotation will be made up of guys who scored double digit points per game at lower levels, but they won’t have a single guy who’s done it at such a level as the Big 12. The success of the team will be largely predicated on players, including Goldwire, taking on a bigger portion of offensive responsibilities than they saw last season. Having watched Jordan for four years, it’ll certainly be interesting to see whether or not he’s capable of it.
Original coverage of transfer: https://savedukebasketball.blogspot.com/2021/03/3-jordan-goldwire-also-enters-transfer.html
Patrick Tapé: San Francisco
If 45 minutes of the Patrick Tapé Experience weren’t enough for you for Duke, you’ll get one last chance to watch him play this upcoming season. You’d better be ready to set the DVR to record those late Pacific time tip-offs, as he’ll be finishing out his collegiate career at the University of San Francisco of the West Coast Conference. Yes, that means you’ll get to watch him play at least one game against the likely preseason #1 team, the Gonzaga Bulldogs. But Gonzaga isn’t the only capable team in the conference, as the WCC will try to send multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four years.
The Dons won’t be the favorite to lock down that second spot, but don’t rule them out entirely. While their 11-14 record in 2020-21 was disappointing, they did manage to knock off the Virginia Cavaliers early in the season and should return most of their roster. Tapé will actually be joined in San Francisco by his former Columbia teammate, Gabe Stefanini, who has played just 45 less minutes than Patrick since the 2018-19 season. Also in the fold for the Dons are San Diego’s Yauhen Massalski and Nevada’s Zane Meeks, both of whom should provide front court depth. Last season’s leading scorer, Jamaree Bouyea, has been linked with the NBA draft process, but if he stays, San Francisco will have a real chance to contend for an NCAA Tournament berth in 2021-22.
Original coverage of transfer: https://savedukebasketball.blogspot.com/2021/03/4-patrick-tape-re-enters-transfer-portal.html
Henry Coleman III: Texas A&M
The first two years of Buzz Williams’ tenure at Texas A&M haven’t gone as smoothly as the Aggie faithful would’ve hoped, and there’s plenty of reason to believe year three won’t be much better. After racking up just two conference wins in the COVID-shortened season, eight different Aggies entered their name into the transfer portal. If Williams is going to earn his $24 million contract, he’ll have to do so by building the program back from the ground up. Part of that foundation was the addition of Duke’s Henry Coleman III, whose transfer caught a lot of Duke fans off guard, including myself. While Henry will be missed in Durham, there’s no doubt his opportunity to play is much greater in College Station.
Despite the eight transfers, A&M’s cupboard of returning players isn’t completely bare – they’ll return three of their top six scorers from a season ago. Fortunately for Coleman’s prospects of immediate playing time, all of the returns come in the backcourt. Similar to Brakefield’s situation at Ole Miss, the Aggies’ frontcourt rotation projects to be mostly newcomers at the moment, giving Henry a great opportunity to contribute right away. His biggest competition for minutes appears to be Arkansas transfer Ethan Henderson, Connecticut transfer Javonte Brown, and freshman Ashton Smith. While Blue Devil fans will certainly feel a sense of regret if Coleman is able to blossom away from Durham, we should find out pretty soon just what type of player he can be given a real chance.
Original coverage of transfer: https://savedukebasketball.blogspot.com/2021/04/10-henry-coleman-iii-enters-transfer.html
No comments:
Post a Comment