It was a real drag for Duke fans to see TJ Power enter the transfer portal on Thursday, only to be followed by Sean Stewart on Friday.
But if the portal takes, it also gives. There’s nothing official yet, but there are strong rumors that Mason Gillis and Maliq Brown are Durham-bound. Both receive Crystal Ball predictions, with Brown getting a medium and a high and Gillis getting a high.
Both would be very useful additions.
The 6-9 Brown was solid for Syracuse last season and played extremely well at Cameron. He took over when Naheem McLeod was lost to injury and he did quite well. Brown averaged 9.5 points per game and pulled down 7.2 rebounds. A second year student, he has two years left.
As for Gillis, he comes from Purdue and we believe he has one year left, his Covid bonus year. He played 21.2 mpg and was in every game. He shot 46.8 percent from three-point range and averaged 6.5 points per game and 3.9 rebounds.
He is 6-6 years old and would obviously bring a wealth of experience, which would be a major asset for a young team.
Despite all the concerns about transfers, it’s happening everywhere, as Scott pointed out on Friday. For now, there is no escaping this reality. So let’s see what happens with the newcomers, once they decide, and we’ll go from there.