Duke Basketball

Duke freshman Jalen Johnson has withdrawn from the university a week after opting out of the remainder of the 2020-21 season, according to Steve Wiseman of the News & Observer.

Johnson announced his intention to declare for the NBA draft on Feb. 15 after averaging 11.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 13 games under head coach Mike Krzyzewski. If the Blue Devils (11-8, 9-6 ACC) make the NCAA tournament this year, Johnson's departure could make a deep run tougher. 

As of Thursday, Duke's roster no longer listed the power forward.

Per Wiseman:

"[Withdrawing] ahead of the school’s March 24 deadline for undergraduates allowed Johnson to leave school with a W, or withdrawn, on his academic record rather than an F. That means Johnson, having completed his course work in the fall semester, is leaving Duke in good academic standing and will not hurt the program’s Academic Progress Rate score with the NCAA.

"... As is the case with all players, Johnson will continue to have access to Duke’s medical staff, both physical and behavioral health services, until he signs with an agent."

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman has Johnson pegged as a lottery pick this summer and is the No. 10 pick in his latest mock draft: "At 6'9", 220 pounds, Johnson has a standout physical profile for finishing, rebounding and defending. But it's the ability to handle the ball at his size that sets him apart and creates enticing playmaking-4 potential."

The freshman seems destined to become the latest one-and-done NBA star to have played for Krzyzewski. If so, he'll become one of the few not to play a full season at Duke before declaring for the draft. 

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim did not mince words when discussing Jalen Johnson's decision to opt out of the remainder of the season for the Duke Blue Devils. 

"That guy was hurting them so they actually are much better now without him," Boeheim said, per Mike Curtis of Syracuse.com. "He was just doing some things and keeping other people from playing that are good. They've had two monster wins since he's opted out."  

Despite Boeheim's comment, Duke has played just once since Johnson opted out. The Blue Devils defeated Wake Forest on Wednesday without the freshman, which doesn't exactly qualify as a "monster" win.

Johnson arrived at Duke as a 5-star prospect and the No. 13 overall player in the 2020 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

However, he dealt with a foot injury earlier in the season. This college basketball season is also taking place in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Johnson is a highly regarded draft prospect who isn't exactly playing for a legitimate championship contender in Duke.

Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported there were "off-court issues between Jalen Johnson/his camp and Duke dating back to early on in the season."

He also didn't play much before opting out, appearing in a combined 23 minutes in his two final games against Notre Dame and North Carolina State. In all, Johnson averaged 11.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three-point range.

That type of shooting and versatility should play well in the NBA, even if his time at Duke didn't work out as hoped.

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected Johnson to go No. 6 overall in a recent mock draft.

As for the Blue Devils, they are likely on the outside looking in at the current NCAA tournament picture and would need a strong finish to have a chance. They play Virginia on Saturday before a showdown with Boeheim's squad on Monday.

In stunning news Monday night, Jacob Polacheck of ZagsBlog was the first to report that Duke's possibly NBA lottery-bound freshman Jalen Johnson opted out of the remainder of the 2020-21 men's college basketball season.

This was just the latest chapter in what has been a tumultuous, confusing couple of years for Johnson.

There's no denying his talent. He was sensational in high school. In his collegiate debut against Coppin State, he racked up 19 points and 19 rebounds. He later had 24 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, four blocks and two steals in a game against Pittsburgh.

When he was locked in, it wasn't hard to see why most NBA scouts have been willing to overlook the red flag that he wasn't even nominated for the 2020 McDonald's All-American Game after leaving prep school powerhouse IMG Academy without playing a game.

Then, four games into this season—less than a week after Duke's decision to cancel the remainder of its nonconference games—Johnson was indefinitely sidelined by what Duke announced was a foot injury. (Stadium's Jeff Goodman said Dec. 17 on The Field of 68 podcast that he wasn't 100 percent buying that injury.)

Johnson missed three games and was a Jekyll and Hyde player after his return. He was stellar in the aforementioned game against Pitt. A few days later, he committed six turnovers in a disastrous performance against Louisville.

After he had another dud in a bad loss to Miami, Mike Krzyzewski had Johnson on the bench to start a marquee game against North Carolina. One week after that, Johnson played just eight minutes in a win over NC State. And now he's leaving the 8-8 Blue Devils to focus on the NBA draft.

Might Duke finally be able to turn a corner now that he's gone?

It defies logic to suggest that a team might improve after losing its most talented player, but even the best square pegs still don't fit into round holes. And outside of a few fleeting moments when it all seemed to click and Johnson took over games, it often felt like the Blue Devils were trying to force something that wasn't meant to be.

It had ripple effects throughout the roster.

Matthew Hurt has had metronome-like consistency as Duke's leader. Per KenPom, the sophomore stretch 4 has had an offensive rating of at least 110 in all but one game this season, and even in the lone exception, he had 20 points and 11 rebounds on the road against Virginia Tech. As rough as this season has been for the Blue Devils, Hurt still might be in the mix for first-team All-ACC.

But everyone else has been all over the place.

Sophomore forward Wendell Moore Jr. has had five impressive games with at least 15 points but also eight games with five points or fewer. Freshman guard Jeremy Roach has had a similar all-or-nothing season in which the seven most recent entries in his points log read: 2, 16, 16, 2, 12, 0, 0.

Freshman guard DJ Steward has been a good deal more consistent in the points column, but there's no telling if he'll score his 13 points on eight shots with minimal turnovers or on 15 shots with sloppy ball-handling. Freshman big men Mark Williams and Jaemyn Brakefield have provided good value when they've played, but their playing time waxed and waned based on Johnson's availability and effectiveness.

Now, by no means are all those players' inconsistencies on Johnson. They may well just be inconsistent players, at least at these early stages of their playing careers.

However, there's no way they benefited from having no idea which version of the most NBA-ready talent on the roster they were going to play alongside on any given night.

So while there's now less talent on the team, at least the remaining Blue Devils might finally figure out their roles within the system.

You know, sort of like six years ago when Rasheed Sulaimon abruptly left Duke 20 games into what turned out to be a national championship campaign.

At that point in the 2014-15 season, Duke had lost three of its last six games and was starting to turn into a dumpster fire on defense. But right after Sulaimon left, Justise Winslow posted the first double-double of his college career and played a much bigger role the rest of the way, Matt Jones' role grew larger and more defined, and a freshman by the name of Grayson Allen started getting some legitimate runs for the first time in months.

The talent was always there. It just didn't mesh or balance until a key member of the rotation who was unhappy with his role was out of the picture.

Before you get up in arms, I'm not suggesting this Duke team sans Johnson will transform into a title contender.

But I am suggesting the Blue Devils could still make the 2021 NCAA tournament.

Because we've seen the "addition by midseason subtraction" thing work for this program once before. And it's not like Duke has been that bad. Its record is an eyesore, for sure, but seven of its eight losses came by seven points or fewer. The one game that got out of hand was a 15-point loss to a title contender in Illinois that shot 63.6 percent from three-point range.

Duke is 34th in the KenPom rankings, and we're deep enough into the campaign that preseason ratings have little, if anything, to do with that formula.

This isn't a team that needs a miracle or a drastic makeover to be competitive. Better-defined roles on the court and one fewer off-the-court distraction could do the trick.

Maybe Duke (6-6 in the ACC) will lose to Wake Forest (6-9, 3-9) in less than 48 hours and I will look like a buffoon for suggesting it still had an at-large pulse.

Or maybe Johnson's decision—in conjunction with Saturday's 16-point win at NC State in which he barely played—will be the catalyst that leads to wins over Virginia, Louisville and North Carolina over these final three weeks of the regular season.

Johnson's college career is finished, but don't put that final nail in Duke's 2020-21 coffin just yet.

             

Statistics courtesy of Sports Reference and KenPom.com.

Kerry Miller covers college football and men's college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @kerrancejames.

Duke forward Jalen Johnson is opting out of the remainder of the 2020-21 season and will enter the 2021 NBA draft.

NEWS: Jalen Johnson will forgo remainder of season, enter NBA Draft pic.twitter.com/VLNP0Wgs3y

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 16, 2021

According to Stadium's Jeff Goodman, there were "off-court issues between Jalen Johnson/his camp and Duke" that have been ongoing behind the scenes. Jacob Polaheck and Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog also spoke to a source who said the freshman has already cleaned out his locker.

Johnson was the No. 13 overall player and No. 3 small forward in 2020, per 247Sports' composite rankings, making him the highest-ranked member of Duke's recruiting class.

The Milwaukee native is third on the team in points (11.2) and second in rebounds per game (6.1). He's also shooting 52.3 percent from the floor and is 8-of-18 from beyond the arc.

However, Johnson seems to have fallen out of favor with head coach Mike Krzyzewski. He logged just eight minutes in a 69-53 win over North Carolina State on Saturday. He was on the floor for 15 minutes in the Blue Devils' previous game, a 93-89 loss to Notre Dame last Tuesday.

Johnson might still be feeling the effects of the foot injury that shelved him earlier in the year. His abrupt departure naturally raises questions about larger factors at play.

B/R's Jonathan Wasserman projected him to go sixth overall to the Chicago Bulls in his most recent mock draft. 

"He projects as a playmaking big with an ability to grab and go, pass on the move or face up and attack," Wasserman wrote. "Shooting remains an obvious swing skill, but he can score from off the ball, using his tools and athleticism to cut, finish and crash the glass."

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski will admit it. 

After dropping under .500 for the first time since 1999 with a loss to Notre Dame on Tuesday, Krzyzewski said the squad was "not accustomed" to the situation it now finds itself in.

"Youth has to be developed, and our program, we're not accustomed to that," he said, per David Thompson of the Fayetteville Observer. "And we're not accustomed to losing. But sometimes you have to lose, take responsibility and build from it."

Per Thompson, Krzyzewski compared the need to wait for long-term results to similarly disappointing seasons in 1982-83, 1994-95 and 2006-07. In the two earlier years, Duke did not play in the NCAA tournament. 

The legendary coach brushed off a question about the Blue Devils possibly going to the NIT rather than March Madness this season, which would be their first appearance in the tournament since 1981, Krzyzewski's inaugural season (h/t Matt Giles of FanSided): 

"I think, to plan ahead during this season is not a good idea, and also, just to keep your eyes on the road and just try to be as good as you possibly can be. To be quite frank with you, we have not talked about that with our team. So we'll consider whatever. I just hope we have our ACC tournament. ... I'm all for the ACC tournament."

The Blue Devils entered the season ranked No. 9 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, but they've now lost six of their last eight games. However, Krzyzewski is still confident in the group. 

"This will pay off at some point if you stay with it," he said, per Thompson. 

The Duke men's basketball team is having a historic season—just not in the way it would like.

Duke fell to Notre Dame 93-89 on Tuesday to drop to 7-8 on the season. This is the first time since 1999 that the program has had a record below .500, according to Kyle Boone of CBS Sports. 

Per Matt Giles of FanSided, it's been even longer since the Blue Devils were below .500 in February, something they haven't done since 1995. 

The program is in serious danger to miss the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1995, when legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski was on leave to recover from back surgery, per Mike Lopresti of NCAA.com. The Blue Devils went 13-18 that year and picked up just two ACC victories. 

Their regular-season struggles could see them demoted to the NIT, where they haven't appeared since 1981—Krzyzewski's first year with the squad. Duke's all-time wins leader deflected a question about the tournament in talking to reporters on Monday (h/t Giles): 

"I think, to plan ahead during this season is not a good idea, and also, just to keep your eyes on the road and just try to be as good as you possibly can be. To be quite frank with you, we have not talked about that with our team. So we'll consider whatever. I just hope we have our ACC tournament. ... I'm all for the ACC tournament."

A perennial contender, Duke has dropped six of its last eight games and is 5-6 in ACC play. The squad was ranked ninth in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, one spot ahead of Kentucky, another typically strong team that is struggling in 2021. The Wildcats, who had the top recruiting class in the country, are just 5-12. 

The latest edition of the poll was missing Kentucky, Duke, Kansas and North Carolina, something that hadn't happened since Dec. 18, 1961, according to Adam Zagoria of the New York Times. 

If Duke and the NCAA's other top programs don't shape up quickly, March will have a new feel.  

After a critical response to a question during his press conference Saturday, Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski personally called the student reporter to apologize.

The situation came after the Blue Devils' loss to Louisville when Krzyzewski angrily responded to Duke Chronicle's Jake Piazza:

https://twitter.com/Kyle__Boone/status/1353150276971225088

Piazza elaborated on the situation from his perspective in a column Monday.

"Once I got back to my apartment building, the weekend had another surprise in store for me. My phone rang and Coach K was on the other end of the line," Piazza wrote. "Our call was short, but the sincerity in his apology was genuine. And in the end, I appreciated the call."

The initial exchange led to plenty of debate on social media, with many criticizing Krzyzewski for his response to the question.

For those saying, "what Coach K said wasn't that bad" ask yourself:

1. Was the question fair (it was)
2. Is equating a random loss to the "worst econ test ever" a fair analogy (it isn't)
3. Would he have answered the same question from Dickie V the same (he wouldnt have)

🤔🤔

— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) January 24, 2021

The incident also takes place in the midst of a rare rough patch for the Blue Devils on the court, losing three straight games to fall to 5-5. The squad fell out of the Top 25 for the first time since 2016 and didn't get a single vote in the latest Associated Press poll.

Duke will be back in action Tuesday against Georgia Tech.

The Duke men's basketball team dropped its third straight contest after falling to Louisville 70-65 on Saturday.

Afterward, Duke Chronicle student reporter Jake Piazza asked Krzyzewski an innocuous question about the Blue Devils' next steps going forward as they "move into another week of basketball."

The coach provided the following response:

https://twitter.com/Kyle__Boone/status/1353150276971225088

"Why don't we just evaluate this game, I'm not into what our next step forward is right now," Coach K said in part.

Krzyzewski then asked Piazza what his major was at Duke, and the student reporter replied that he was studying economics.

Coach K then noted the student reporter's question was analogous to someone coming up to Piazza after a tough economics test and asking what his next steps would be.

"You see what I mean? You have some empathy?" Krzyzewski asked.

"You know, just give us time to evaluate this game and then we'll figure out just like we always try to do."

Piazza tweeted after the back-and-forth:

This was not exactly how I expected my first postgame question to Coach K to go. https://t.co/a7sU1UE46a

— Jake Piazza (@jake_piazza) January 24, 2021

The Blue Devils' season could be on the brink after falling to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in ACC play following the three-game skid.

Piazza's question was a legitimate one, especially with Duke slated to play three games over the next nine days against Georgia Tech, Clemson and Miami.

The Blue Devils may have fought hard and lost Saturday, but conference play isn't letting up, especially with a rivalry game against UNC awaiting following next week's slate of games.

Duke head men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski spoke out Saturday against the pro-Donald Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

Gary Parrish of CBS Sports tweeted Coach K's statement on the matter:

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski spent a couple of minutes today discussing the events of the week and current state of our nation. pic.twitter.com/LeyUpIp0ds

— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) January 9, 2021

Krzyzewski called it a "horrible day" and "an insurrection" before adding: "It went to the very fabric of this great country, where the symbol for our democracy is that Capitol, and we allowed that symbol to be really just spit on and stepped on."

On Wednesday, a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol while the election of Trump's democratic rival Joe Biden as U.S. president was being confirmed. Per CNBC, Washington police reported that more than 50 officers were injured and four people died amid the violence.

Following the breaching of the Capitol, Trump released a video in which he called for the mob to go home but also called them "very special" and saying "we love you" while continuing to allege the election was rigged. Attorney General William Barr told the Associated Press in early December that no evidence of widespread voter fraud had been found.

Trump finally conceded defeat in the early morning hours of Thursday, saying in a statement: "A new administration will be inaugurated on Jan. 20. My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power."

The 73-year-old Krzyzewski, who played college basketball for Army at West Point in the 1960s and later coached Army before making the move to Duke, has been critical of Trump in the past.

In 2017, Coach K said Trump "should realize he's accountable to all people."

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski weighed in on Wednesday's breach of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. by a pro-Trump mob.

On his SiriusXM show Basketball and Beyond with Coach K (h/t Steve Wiseman of the Charlotte Observer) on Thursday, Krzyzewski called the invasion "one of the darkest times for our country because the foundation of our country was shaken."

“How can that happen? Why did it happen?” he added. “We’ve got a lot of work to do as a country. We can’t have that. There’s no way that we can have that. Hopefully, as we move forward, we can come together.”

The breach occurred around 1 p.m. ET as Congress convened to certify the 2020 presidential election results for Joe Biden. Rioters made their way onto the Senate floor and were seen looting and vandalizing items from the Capitol. 

Per Evan Perez and Paul LeBlanc of CNN, five people are confirmed dead as a result of the invasion, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer. The Department of Justice announced Friday that so far 13 people are facing federal charges and another 40 were charged in Superior Court related to the breach.

Duke played its first game since Dec. 16 that same night. The Blue Devils beat Boston College 83-82 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Krzyzewski, 73, played college basketball at West Point from 1966-69. He served as an officer in the United States Army after graduating before moving into coaching. He was named head basketball coach for the Black Knights in 1975, where he spent five years before being hired at Duke.