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Duke Blue Devils: Top Candidates to Replace Tyus Jones at Point Guard

By Chris Godfrey

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The Duke Blue Devils will go into next season as the defending national champions, but their bid to defend that title has already been met with serious peril. As expected, Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow hastily shuffled their way out of Durham immediately after the season on the way to the NBA Draft. However, Coach K probably assumed that he would still have the services of his freshman point guard, Tyus Jones, going into next season.

Unfortunately for Duke fans, the appeal of NBA riches was too much of a temptation to keep the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four in school for a second season. Jones’ performances during the NCAA Tournament all but assured him of the guaranteed NBA contract that accompanies being a first-round draft pick. Jones’ recent decision to join Okafor and Winslow in the 2015 draft has created a huge problem for next season’s team. Who’s playing the point?

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With no primary ball handlers currently on the roster, the Blue Devils will have to get creative in order to find a successor to the throne of floor general at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The remaining options are scarce, but carry intriguing possibilities.

Dylan Ennis

The older brother of former Syracuse one-and-done Tyler Ennis could be a candidate to pull off his own one-and-done scenario at Duke. After serving as a key contributor to a loaded Villanova team this past season, Dylan Ennis is eligible to transfer and play immediately as a graduate student. Bringing in the Canadian-born Ennis to play the point would infuse the Duke roster with experience and leadership. While Ennis may not be the NBA talent that Jones is, he’s a proven commodity and his ability to compete at college basketball’s highest level is unquestioned. Ennis averaged just under 10 points per game last season while only playing 28 minutes a game. He also shot a respectable 36% from deep. Plugging in Ennis buys Coach K an entire season to resolve the position’s long term future. Currently, Ennis is considering multiple schools, but an opportunity to run the show at Duke would be a hard gig to pass up.

Derryck Thornton

As the third ranked point guard in the Class of 2016 (according to ESPN), Derryck Thornton has already shown that he has the skill to play high major college basketball. However, two things have yet to be determined. First, does Thornton want to play for Duke. Second, does he want to reclassify and play for Duke next season. Those are two big asks for the young man who is currently expected to play his final season of high school basketball at the Findlay Prep basketball factory. Coach K is expected to meet with Thornton at some point this week to discuss reclassification, and Thornton has been getting bombarded with recruitment tweets from zealous fans that are hoping he can rescue them from this personnel-related quagmire. It should be noted that fans from Louisville are sending the same tweets, as it looks like Rick Pitino may be interested in adding Thornton to his 2015 class as well.

Jamal Murray

After his recent performance at the Nike Hoop Summit (30 points against the best American-born members of the class of 2015), Jamal Murray is one of the hottest names in recruiting circles around the country, and is emerging as a likely candidate for reclassification. As it relates to age, Murray belongs in the class of 2015 anyway (he’s already 18-years-old), so it isn’t a stretch for him to reclassify. The move would be seen as him catching up rather than moving ahead. There’s no question in regards to Murray’s readiness. Even though Rivals ranks Murray as their #16 overall prospect, it’s a number that seems low after watching his recent performances. If Murray chooses to commit to Duke he would probably be the program’s best option at point guard. However, the Blue Devils are not the only program in pursuit of Murray’s talents.

Last Resorts

If Coach K and his staff strike out on the aforementioned prospects. These may be the only contingency plans available this late in the process.

  • Grayson Allen or incoming freshman Luke Kennard playing out of position at point guard (probably the worst case scenario)
  • Reaching out to another graduate transfer (South Florida’s Anthony Collins and Alabama’s Ricky Tarrant are both capable and eligible immediately even though they are not considering Duke at this time)
  • Signing a 3-star point guard prospect (Duke just recently signed a 3-star frontcourt prospect, Antonio Vrankovic)
  • Convincing another 2016 prospect besides Thornton or Murray to reclassify (Duke is heavily recruiting several top point guards from the class, including the top prospect at the position, Dennis Smith Jr.)

Next: Where are the Top Unsigned Prospects Going? (Part 2)

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