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More On Jordan Tucker’s Transfer

He just wants to play and it’s hard to argue with that

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NCAA Basketball: St. Francis (PA) at Duke
 Dec 5, 2017; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Jordan Tucker (5) shoots a free throw during the second half against the Saint Francis Red Flash at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke won 124-67. 
Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

What’s the upshot of Jordan Tucker’s transfer from Duke?

Not much at this point. Duke’s lineup has been set for a long time and Tucker wasn't able to push past Alex O’ Connell in the rotation, much less Javin DeLaurier.

So unless something changes, Duke won’t miss him this year. But it could down the road.

Keep in mind that Duke will almost certainly lose all five starters next season and at a minimum, Grayson Allen, Marvin Bagley and Wendell Carter.

Trevon Duval and Gary Trent might not like their draft status when it’s time to make a decision but they’re currently seen as first round draft picks, likely just outside the lottery, so it’s reasonable to think all five will be gone.

So next year, Duke will likely start Marques Bolden, Tre Jones, Cam Reddish and RJ Barrett and one other player to be named later but likely DeLaurier.

That would leave rotation spots open for Jordan Goldwire, O’ Connell and Tucker, both of whom we saw (and still see in O’ Connell’s case) as program guys, guys who would be around 3-4 years.

And we shouldn’t overlook Jack White or Justin Robinson, who in particular has shown, though in limited minutes, that

You can’t blame Tucker for wanting to play though he won’t be able to do so until next January since he’ll have to sit out his transfer year.

We haven’t heard anything about where he plans to go from here but we expect he’ll do well. He’s quick and he can score. He’ll spend his transfer year bulking up - one strike against him now is that he’s pretty thin - and when he’s back, he should be a pretty solid player.

Just somewhere else and a step or two down.

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