Duke Basketball: Blue Devils reportedly targeting Andrew Nembhard

Andrew Nembhard is one of the top transfers of the 2020 offseason, and now the Duke Blue Devils are reportedly recruiting the star point guard.

Duke Basketball received its first transfer to the program in five years with Patrick Tape this offseason, and now it appears they’re going after another in Florida’s Andrew Nembhard.

Nembhard, who withdrew his name from the NBA Draft before deciding to transfer, wouldn’t be eligible to play until the 2021-22 season due to transfer rules. This means he wouldn’t make an impact with Duke’s team that looks to be pretty strong once again this season, but he would make a huge impact for the season following.

Here is what Duke’s 2021-22 team might look like with Nembhard:

• A.J. Griffin (Freshman)
• Jeremy Roach (Sophomore)
• Jaemyn Brakefield (Sophomore)
• Mark Williams (Sophomore)
• Henry Coleman III (Sophomore)
• Cason Pierce (Walk-On Sophomore)
• Andrew Nembhard (Redshirt Junior)
• Matthew Hurt (Junior)
• Keenan Worthington (Walk-On Junior)
• Michael Savarino (Walk-On Junior)
• Joey Baker (Senior)

Obviously, this isn’t final as Duke has only one recruit from the Class of 2021 in A.J. Griffin, but it’s a start. You may notice that Jalen Johnson, D.J. Steward, and Wendell Moore aren’t included in this potential roster, this is because I see them entering the 2021 NBA Draft.

It’s still very possible that any or all of them return, but I see each of them having great 2020-21 seasons and deciding to pursue the NBA. In addition to this, other players like Matthew Hurt and Joey Baker could leave Durham to pursue other opportunities as well.

Overall, Nembhard would be a huge addition to Duke. In his sophomore season with the Florida Gators, Nembhard averaged 11.2 points, 5.6 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game, and was also the Gators’ third-leading scorer in 2019-20.

Not only is Nembhard a very good scorer, but he’s also a great passer as he had by far the most assists for the Gators last season as well.

Adding Nembhard would be a huge addition to the 2021-22 Blue Devils, and it would be a great tactic to help draw in more recruits from the Class of 2021 as well.