Duke basketball coach claims 'best guard in country' on Friday

Jeremy Roach played the hero role in Duke basketball's Black Friday outing.

Whether or not Jeremy Roach winds up as the nation's premier point guard this year, the Duke basketball junior captain certainly looked the part on Friday afternoon as the No. 8 Blue Devils (6-1, 0-0 ACC) advanced to the Phil Knight Legacy title game with their 71-64 win over the Xavier Musketeers (4-2, 0-0 Big East) in Portland, Ore.

RELATED: Blue Devils to face one of Jon Scheyer's final foes as a player

Roach finished with a team-high 21 points, marking only his second game as a Blue Devil with at least 20 points and the first since his career-high 22 points in a January 2021 road loss to Virginia Tech during his freshman campaign.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound former five-star recruit added five assists, four rebounds, two steals, and only turnover against the Musketeers. Across his team-high 35 minutes on the floor, he shot 9-for-15 from the field, 2-for-4 beyond the arc, and 1-for-2 from the foul line.

"It was the first half," Roach said about the moment in the game when he realized his scoring prowess was in top form. "I came off like a drag screen in transition, hit a three, [and] I knew I had it going then. Just wanted to keep it going, get the win."

He never appeared to second-guess his decisions, especially down the stretch. Throughout the game, he was visibly confident in his steps when attacking the basket or pulling up for a jumper, evident in the highlight below:

J Roach is COOKING 👌👌👌

😈 @Jeremyroach10

📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/VsjC5osTkj

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) November 25, 2022

Following Jeremy Roach's most complete performance this season against a high-major opponent, first-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer discussed his trust in the 21-year-old.

"Jeremy and I spoke," Scheyer told the media about their conversation following the Blue Devils' struggles in Thursday's 54-51 win over the Oregon State Beavers, during which Roach shot 3-for-14 from the field and scored a season-low seven points. "My thing was, just play instinctually. Just be you. He's in a tough spot where he has a lot on his shoulders."

No doubt Roach responded against Xavier, leading to some lofty praise from Scheyer.

"We needed him to score, to create, to defend the other team's best player...and there's a lot that falls on your shoulders — so you can overthink it a little bit," Scheyer explained. "And the thing that I loved for him today is he just was him. And when he's that way, to me, he's the best guard in the country."

Now, the Duke basketball squad faces the No. 24 Purdue Boilermakers (5-0, 0-0 Big East) for the Phil Knight Legacy crown at 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday (ABC).

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