Breaking news: Two players and the head coach of the Duke men’s basketball team have announced their departures due to the comeback of…

Breaking news: Two players and the head coach of the Duke men’s basketball team have announced their departures due to the comeback of…

Jaylen Blakes, a junior combo guard, has declared his plan to leave the Duke basketball team.

The 6-foot-3 guard clarified that he will apply to the transfer portal as a graduate transfer when he made his announcement on social media.

“As I prepared to graduate this semester, it has been a dream come true to be part of the Duke University family and brotherhood for the past three years,” Blakes stated. “I want to thank the Duke academic community, coaches, staff, teammates, and managers for their contribution and impact on my growth and development both on and off the court.”

After high school, 247Sports.com ranked Blakes as a four-star talent who was just outside the nation’s top 100 prospects. In his rookie campaign, he made 21 appearances as a reserve and averaged 1.0 points in what was the penultimate season for previous head coach Mike Krzyzewski. He and Jeremy Roach were the only two returning members of the team for head coach Jon Scheyer’s inaugural campaign the following year.

He participated in thirty-two of the team’s thirty-six games as a sophomore, starting his first two games against NC State and Florida State. In his sophomore campaign, Blakes averaged 3.3 points per game and had a 2.05-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

The junior played in 31 of the 36 games the squad played last season, making one start and averaging nine minutes per game. This will be Blake’s last season in a Duke uniform.

Blakes had warm comments for the fans as he was leaving, despite having played a smaller part in the previous season.

“I want to thank the fans and the Cameron Crazies who have played a key role in my exciting and unforgettable experience.”

Blakes joins Kyle Filipowski, Christian Reeves, Mark Mitchell, and Jared McCain, who are all headed to the NBA, as the sixth player from the previous season to leave the Blue Devil program in recent weeks. With his departure, Duke’s projected roster now only consists of two upperclassmen: Tyrese Proctor, a rising junior point guard, and Jeremy Roach, a senior combo guard. Roach, though, has not yet announced his plans and is thought to be leaving the game after a typical four-year career, but that is not a given.

In the event that Roach does indeed leave the program, Duke is anticipated to start hosting visits with a number of players who log on to the portal. The Blue Devils are hoping to add maturity and experience to a core group that features the best recruiting class in the country, led by Cooper Flagg, the nation’s top recruit overall, and international five-star center Khaman Maluach.

Duke currently projects 12 players, including Roach, to be on scholarship. The six freshmen will join Proctor, the senior, and a class of four sophomores: Caleb Foster, TJ Power, Sean Stewart, and Jaden Schutt.