Basketball
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
One of the top players in the transfer portal is reportedly eyeing a move down south.
According to basketball analyst Jeff Goodman, Baylor “has emerged as the front-runner” to land former Duke guard Jeremy Roach, who averaged a career-high 14.0 points as a senior last season.
Roach declared for the NBA draft and entered the transfer portal on Tuesday. He’s the fifth Duke player to have entered the portal this offseason, joining Christian Reeves, Mark Mitchell, Jaylen Blakes and Jaden Schutt. The Blue Devils’ top two scorers, Kyle Filipowski and Jared McCain, also entered the NBA draft.
Roach was a 5-star recruit and a McDonalds All-American in the class of 2020. He went on to start 106 games in his four seasons at Duke, taking on a larger role in his junior year before his breakout performance this past season. He also averaged career-bests of 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 42.9 percent from beyond the arc in 2023-24 on his way to earning third-team All-ACC honors.
Baylor has an opening in its backcourt after star freshman Ja’Kobe Walter declared for the NBA draft earlier this week. The Big 12 Freshman of the Year led the Bears with 14.5 points per game this past season.
Roach would be a solid addition for Baylor head coach Scott Drew, who is welcoming the fifth-best recruiting class in 247Sports’ composite rankings. The class is headlined by 5-star shooting guard VJ Edgecombe, who is ranked as the No. 4 overall player in the nation and the No. 1 player at his position.
Read More Doric Sam