Jan 14, 2022; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard/forward Jacob Grandison (3) reacts after scoring against the Michigan Wolverines during the second half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
By Matt Clapp on

Highly coveted Illinois grad transfer Jacob Grandison has announced where he’ll play college basketball in the 2022-23 season.

Grandison tweeted on Saturday that he’ll spend his remaining year of eligibility playing for the Duke Blue Devils.

The 6’6″ wing chose Duke over Arizona, BYU, DePaul, Iowa State, Kentucky, Michigan, Oregon, UCLA, and USC.


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Grandison averaged 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists for Illinois in the 2021-22 season, while shooting 41% on threes at high volume (4.5 attempts per game).

While Illinois had bigger names (Kofi Cockburn, Alfonso Plummer, and Trent Frazier), Grandison was a hugely important player for the Fighting Illini (who have seen a lot of change this offseason). Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said that Grandison “was probably as important to our success as any player we had.”

“He’s had a wonderful impact. He was probably as important to our success as any player we had.”

Grandison tested the NBA Draft waters before deciding to return to the collegiate level and transfer.

With the addition of Grandison, Duke gets a veteran presence that can impact the game on both ends of the floor, and his high-percentage three-point shooting is particularly valuable- especially at 6’6″. It’s a great get for Duke head coach Jon Scheyer to begin the post-Krzyzewski era.

Here’s a sampling of how the college basketball world is reacting to Grandison’s decision to transfer to Duke:

https://twitter.com/M_Bulge19/status/1535701012484395008

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.

He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

View all posts by Matt Clapp