A Theo John Profile

The Duke Chronicle takes a look at Theo John’s game here. As a grad student transfer from Marquette, Duke fans don’t necesssarily have a great sense of John yet.

In the words of R. Crumb, he’s a rough, tough creampuff who probably won’t start, at least not full-time.

However he can come off the bench to spell either Mark Williams or Paolo Banchero and Duke will have very little fall-off and almost none on defense.

We’ve seen video of him going toe-to-toe with Williams in practice and while Williams is the longer, better shot blocker John is clearly not intimidated and doesn’t mind going right at the talented sophomore. Here’s a bit of what the Chronicle has to say about him:

“Rim protection is the hallmark of John’s game, as his per outing clip of 1.5 blocks placed him in the 96th percentile of college players in 2020-21, according to CBB Analytics, and he seems to swat shots out of the air with ease. However, while this aspect of his game is the most flashy, it really is just one part of his overall role as a defensive stalwart. A physical specimen at 6-foot-9 and 242 pounds, John is plenty big enough to fend off opponents driving to the basket but also athletic enough to keep up with fast plays and to pop up for rebounds.”

Having him around is going to be a huge asset for Duke this year. People don't always get a lot of praise for coming off the bench but John has the chance to be a huge factor for Duke.

Bonus fun: UNC has Marquette transfer Dawson Garcia. Watching those two go at it will be a war within a war.