John Blackwell has already spent three seasons in the kind of spotlight most college players only see a few times. At Wisconsin, the 6-foot-5, 205-pound guard showed he could handle it, whether it was a 26-point night in a 91-88 road win over then-No. 2 Michigan, which went on to win the national title, or the buzzer-beating 3-pointer that lifted the Badgers past Minnesota, 78-75.
Now Blackwell is headed into an even brighter stage at Duke.
The 21-year-old, who declared for the NBA Draft before committing to Duke in the spring and then withdrew in time to keep his college eligibility, arrives as one of the most intriguing pieces on a Blue Devils roster that is loaded for 2026-27. Fifth-year coach Jon Scheyer expects Blackwell to help fill a major scoring void, and the numbers back up why: last season at Wisconsin, Blackwell averaged 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 43.0 percent from the field, 38.9 percent from 3-point range and 85.9 percent at the line.
“As far as John, I just think it's the fact we're replacing a lot of scoring and firepower with a proven scorer who's tough and competitve and has been in big games,” Scheyer said last week. “And that's going to really help us throughout the whole year.”
Blackwell, for his part, sounds eager for the schedule that comes with wearing Duke blue. The Blue Devils will play five non-conference games against teams in ESPN’s preseason top 10: Michigan State in Chicago on Nov.
10, Illinois at home on Nov. 17, UConn in Las Vegas on Nov.
25, Florida on the road on Dec. 1, and Texas Tech in New York City on Dec. 21.
“As a player, these are games you get excited for,” Blackwell, one of the nation’s top transfer-portal prospects this offseason and projected by many to lead Duke in scoring, told Duke Blue Devils On SI at last week’s Duke Basketball Media Day. “This is the biggest of the biggest stage. I think our coaches are going to do a great job of preparing us for these games, like they have before.
"I'm just excited. I'm just excited to be in this position. I'm excited to play these teams on the biggest stage.”
Duke’s non-conference slate also includes a trip to face projected top-15 opponent Gonzaga in Detroit on Feb. 20. The conference grind brings two meetings each with UNC and Virginia, plus a road game at Louisville.
The roster around Blackwell is just as deep. Duke’s scholarship newcomers include Belmont transfer Drew Scharnowski and former Wyoming and Loyola (MD) guard Jacob Theodosiou, along with five freshmen: Deron Rippey Jr., Bryson Howard, Cameron Williams, Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and Maxime Meyer.
They join five returners from a 35-3 Duke team that reached the Elite Eight last season: Cayden Boozer, Dame Sarr, Sebastian Wilkins, Patrick Ngongba II and Caleb Foster.
CBS Sports analyst Jon Rothstein summed up the mood after watching Duke practice on Tuesday afternoon: “The deepest team of the Jon Scheyer era in Durham will feature the deepest perimeter in college basketball.”
The new faces will get their first public introduction to Duke fans at Countdown to Craziness on Saturday. Before the season starts for real, the Blue Devils will host Belmont for a preseason scrimmage at 7 p.m.
ET on Thursday, Oct. 8, at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke opens the regular season at home against Army on Nov. 2, with time and TV still to be announced.
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