Duke’s three-point shooting should look a whole lot different next season.
After finishing 132nd nationally in team three-point percentage at KenPom last year, the Blue Devils head into the 2026-27 college basketball season with a roster that looks built to punish teams from the outside. On paper, this group has the size, talent and spacing to be one of the most complete teams in the country.
The biggest reason for that optimism is the shooting talent scattered across the roster. If Duke is going to make good on all that preseason buzz, the Blue Devils will need a much cleaner night-to-night answer from beyond the arc. And there are several players who could provide it.
Sophomore Dame Sarr is the name most people will circle first. He may also be the favorite to become Duke’s biggest breakout star.
A late addition to the Blue Devils’ 2025 recruiting class after Cedric Coward announced he would stay in the 2025 NBA Draft, the 6'8" Italian wing arrived with a reputation as one of the class’s better shooters. That promise didn’t fully show up in Durham as a freshman, though there were flashes.
Sarr finished the season averaging 6.4 points per game while shooting 32.3% from three on 3.5 attempts a night. He showed real catch-and-shoot ability at times, especially from the corners, but never quite put together a long stretch of efficient volume shooting.
Before coming to Durham, he had already flashed outside touch with FC Barcelona, albeit on limited attempts. Back in the starting three spot, he should have a bigger role and more room to expand his game beyond just spot-up shooting.
The expectation is simple: more chances, better numbers, bigger impact.
Caleb Foster brings a steadier track record. Last season, he was arguably Duke’s best three-point shooter, hitting 39.8% of his shots from deep on 3.0 attempts per game.
The 6'5" senior guard has now shot basically 40% from three on at least 2.6 attempts in a season twice during his three years in Durham, and that kind of consistency matters. As the offense’s lead guard, Foster should keep giving Duke reliable spacing.
His role isn’t built around volume shooting, so a huge jump in attempts doesn’t feel likely, but when the Blue Devils need a bucket from outside, he’ll be one of the safest bets on the floor.
Then there’s John Blackwell, whose efficiency makes him impossible to ignore. The Wisconsin transfer averaged more than 19 points per game last season while shooting 43.0% from the field and 38.9% from three on 7.3 attempts per game.
Across his career, he’s shot 44% from the field and 37% from deep on 4.7 attempts. With the ball expected to be in his hands often, Blackwell brings both volume and proven production.
It’s not hard to see why an All-American campaign is being floated.
And Duke’s shooting conversation doesn’t stop with the guards. Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje belongs in the mix too, even if he’s a 7'2", 250-pound big man.
The 17-year-old incoming freshman has shown real guard-like skill for his size, and his shooting numbers this summer were eye-opening. In the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Tournament, he hit 47.4% from three and earned MVP honors.
At the FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup with Team USA, he drilled 53.1% of his perimeter attempts on 4.6 tries per game over seven games. With that kind of shooting touch, Jon Scheyer may have a tough time keeping him off the floor.
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Jon Scheyer Still Faces The Duke Question Fans Can't Ignore
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The lingering question is whether this is the season Scheyer finally turns those trips into a championship breakthrough. The recent pain points are hard to ignore, from the blown 17-point lead against UConn in the Elite Eight to the loss to Houston in the 2025 Final Four, and those are the kinds of defeats that stick with a blue-blood program. Duke has been close under Scheyer, but close is not the same as cutting down the nets, and that is the gap fans will be watching all season. [Read more 🡒]