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Duke has gone to the DMV for years for talent: Johnny Dawkins, Tommy Amaker, Danny Ferry, John Smith, Grant Hill, Nate James and the list goes on.
Latest DMV recruit: Jeremy Roach.
The point guard from Fairfax’s Paul VI High will join Duke this fall, pandemic permitting, and is expected to take the reins from Day I, although Jordan Goldwire may have something to say about that.
Every so often we read about a recruit who made an enormous impression on Coach K. When he saw Billy King defend, he turned to an assistant and said, more or less, we’ve got to get him. I’ve got to coach that guy.
Apparently he had that sort of reaction to young Roach at Peachjam, according to assistant coach Jon Scheyer: “He didn’t even have a big scoring game. But he affected the game in so many different areas — his on-the-ball defense, his leading, his passing, his playmaking. And then he also hit some timely shots. Coach loved him. Right away, Jeremy stuck out to him.”
And just a couple of weeks later, he blew out an ACL. Didn’t bother Duke very much, again according to Scheyer.
“We didn’t skip a beat. No discussion on our end. We wanted to be there for him and help him and let him know we wanted him just as badly. We knew how he would attack the rehab.”
At this point, you’d have to think that Roach has complete confidence in Duke’s staff. And for a point guard, with all associated responsibilities, that’s a great thing to have.