The Duke Blue Devils have benefitted from consistent guard play in recent years thanks to the impact that senior guard Jeremy Roach has provided. But on Tuesday, Roach announced that he will be moving on from the program in one way or another.
Roach took to social media to issue a statement, saying that he will be entering the 2024 NBA Draft, but will also maintain his eligibility and enter the transfer portal.
“I’ll be declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft while maintaining my college eligibility and entering the transfer portal. Thank you again for everything. I’ll always be a Blue Devil and am so grateful to have been able to call Duke home for the four years.”
Roach has been a staple on Duke’s basketball team, playing a big role on the team for pretty much the entirety of his four-year career. But whether it be through the NBA Draft or the transfer portal, it seems clear that he will be gracing another jersey next season.
This past season was Roach’s best on an individual level, averaging a career-high 14.0 points per game. Perhaps his greatest improvement came from behind the three-point line, shooting 42.9 percent from behind the arc. Before this past season, he had not shot over 35 percent in any year of his collegiate career.
Roach’s departure is also significant because it is now the true end of the Mike Krzyzewski era for Duke, as he was the last player on the team that was coached by Coach K.
The question is now whether Roach will end up being drafted by an NBA team or ends up transferring to another college basketball team next year.
He is projected by most to be a second-round pick if he does get drafted at all. So it is up to him if he wants to test the NBA waters as a late-round pick, or potentially look to improve his draft stock with another year of college basketball.
Either way, his departure will likely be a pretty big blow to a Duke program that has gotten used to being able to rely on him over the years.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.