Duke basketball: A finishing touch to next season's roster?

Duke made the top 10 for a top undecided transfer.

Duke basketball transfer target Jacob Grandison (Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports)

Suppose the Duke basketball coaches want to cap off their 2022-23 roster construction by strengthening the shooting department. If so, former Illinois shooting guard Jacob Grandison might be the best option among remaining up-for-grabs talents in the transfer portal.

Consider that Grandison knocked down 41.1 percent of his 3-point attempts across the past two seasons.

Also, note his age. The man is 24 years old, having already spent five years in college.

He began at Holy Cross for two years before sitting out and then playing two seasons for the Fighting Illini (the optional extra year results from the NCAA's decision not to count 2020-21 against anyone's eligibility).

All that experience, shooting prowess, and more could be Duke's if the 6-foot-6, 205-pound California native is high on Durham as a potential final college stop.

There's at least one sign he may be.

Grandison revealed 10 destinations he's considering as of Friday night. And he included the Blue Devils in the mix, along with Arizona, BYU, DePaul, Iowa State, Kentucky, Michigan, Oregon, Southern Cal, and UCLA.

Does Duke basketball have a legit shot at adding Jacob Grandison?

The timing of Jacob Grandison placing Duke in his top 10 is interesting. It could suggest that he's undeterred by five-star point guard Tyrese Proctor's announced decision on Thursday night to reclassify and arrive this month as part of the Blue Devils' seven-deep, top-ranked 2022 recruiting haul.

Or maybe, as has been the case with many others over the years, Grandison's inclusion of Duke as a contender is meant solely to help overload the hype train surrounding his upcoming decision. Such a ploy would be understandable in this NIL era, where every headline can translate into a few more dollar signs.

Of course, suiting up for the center-of-attention Blue Devils could be the most lucrative path for Grandison, even if he has to come off the bench.

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He initially declared for the NBA Draft after drawing 23 starts last season on his way to averaging 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 25.0 minutes per game for an Illini bunch that finished atop the Big Ten standings.

But Grandison withdrew his name from the draft pool last week. Now, we wait — perhaps not long, though — to see if he did so with Duke on his mind.

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