Scheyer's Honest Pitch Lured Blackwell to Duke's Backcourt

Duke coach Jon Scheyer told John Blackwell exactly how hard practice would be before the Wisconsin transfer committed to the Blue Devils. Blackwell said Scheyer's approach stood out during their first conversation. "He just kept it real," Blackwell told reporters. "He didn't sugarcoat. He said we're going to push you every single day. That's what it's been." Scheyer described Blackwell as a proven scorer who understands how to impact winning without dominating the ball.

Blackwell arrives at second-ranked Duke after scoring 1,505 points across three seasons at Wisconsin, which ranks 11th on the Badgers' career list. He averaged 19.1 points and 5.1 rebounds last year as Wisconsin finished 24-11. The Badgers lost 83-82 to High Point in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. A media panel later named Blackwell a first-team preseason all-ACC selection, and he finished second to Virginia forward Thijs De Ridder in the ACC preseason player of the year voting.

He has scored 23 points against No. 17 Kansas in a 90-84 win and 18 points in a 103-64 victory over No. 8 Tennessee during preseason games.

The transfer portal delivered other high-profile moves ahead of the season. Flory Bidunga left Kansas for Louisville after earning second-team AP all-Big 12 honors and Big 12 coaches' defensive player of the year award. The 6-foot-9 forward from the Democratic Republic of the Congo blocked 145 shots in two seasons and averaged 13.3 points with 9 rebounds in 2025-26. Louisville also added Oregon transfer Jackson Shelstad, a second-team preseason all-ACC pick.

Juke Harris moved from Wake Forest to Tennessee after averaging 21.4 points per game, which earned him second-team all-ACC recognition from the AP. The 6-foot-7 guard logged 1,230 minutes last season, the most by a Wake Forest player since at least 1974-75. SEC coaches placed him on their preseason second-team all-conference list.

Mila Momcilovic joined Kentucky from Iowa State after leading Division I in 3-pointers with 136 and in 3-point percentage at .487. He averaged 16.9 points per game for the Cyclones and made 260 threes over three seasons in Ames, hitting 42.9% for his career. He scored 19 points against Central Florida and 15 against Texas Tech in exhibitions for No. 23 Kentucky.

Paulius Murauskas moved from Saint Mary's to Arizona State, where Big 12 coaches named him preseason newcomer of the year and put him on the preseason all-conference team. The 6-foot-8 Lithuanian began at Arizona before playing two seasons at Saint Mary's under new Arizona State coach Randy Bennett. He averaged 18.4 points and 7.6 rebounds last season.

Dedan Thomas Jr. went from LSU to No. 10 Houston after averaging 15.3 points and 6.5 assists in 16 games before a left foot injury ended his season. The 6-1 guard played two years at UNLV before LSU and has career averages of 14.6 points and 5.3 assists across 76 games with 75 starts. Big 12 coaches named him to their preseason all-conference team.

Tounde Yessoufou left Baylor for St. John's after setting the Bears' freshman scoring record with 605 points. The 6-5 guard from Benin averaged 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2 steals, ranking 10th among Division I freshmen in scoring and third in steals. Big East coaches named him a first-team preseason pick, and he scored 23 points in an 87-74 exhibition win over Texas for No. 13 St. John's.