Duke finds potential solution to looming point guard problem
When Tyus Jones announced he will enter the draft last week, it left reigning national champ Duke without a point guard on next season's roster.
Six days later, the Blue Devils found a creative solution to that problem.
Highly touted point guard Derryck Thornton committed to Duke on Tuesday and intends to reclassify from the high school junior class to the senior class, Rivals.com and other media outlets reported. Thornton, who had been a consensus top 15 prospect in the Class of 2016, will join the Blue Devils in the fall and likely will be given every chance to replace Jones as the team's starting point guard.
Whereas Jones arrived at Duke as a polished decision maker who could shoot from the perimeter or create for himself or his teammates off the dribble, Thornton is a different type of point guard. The 6-foot-1 Chatsworth, Calif. native might be a bit more erratic with the ball in his hands than Jones was as a freshman, but he also should be a better on-ball defender.
Landing Thornton and persuading him to reclassify became Duke's top priority once Jones declared for the draft. Assistant coach Jon Scheyer had been the point person in Thornton's recruitment, but head coach Mike Krzyzewski and associate head coach Jeff Capel accompanied Scheyer on an in-home visit to make Duke's pitch Monday night.
If Thornton can handle the point guard position, it will allow title game hero Grayson Allen to play mostly off ball and focus on scoring instead of distributing. Allen, returning starter Matt Jones and incoming freshman Luke Kennard would share minutes at wing, with returners Amile Jefferson and Marshall Plumlee splitting time with Rice transfer Sean Obi and highly touted freshman Chase Jeter in the frontcourt.
The presence of Thornton could also help Duke in its pursuit of another top prospect. Six-foot-8 small forward Brandon Ingram, a friend of Thornton's, is deciding among Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA and NC State.
As big an impact as Ingram could make next season, he still isn't as important to Duke's hopes next year as Thornton may be.
Without Thornton, Duke had a huge hole at point guard. With him, the Blue Devils have a promising young prospect capable of filling it.
Rivals video of Derryck Thornton:
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
