A third Duke men’s basketball player enters his name in the NCAA’s transfer portal

A third Duke basketball player entered his name in the NCAA Transfer Portal on Saturday as the Blue Devil’s roster shuffle continues.

Jaylen Blakes, a reserve guard set to graduate, announced on Instagram he’ll play his final season of college basketball eligibility at another school.

“I am looking forward to the next chapter of my story,” Blakes said in the final line of his social media post.

The 6-2 Blakes started only three games during his three-year career with the Blue Devils, but he played 31 games (with one start) last season as Duke went 27-9 and reached the NCAA Tournament’s Elite 8 round. Playing 9.2 minutes per game and known more for his defense, he averaged 1.8 points per game last season.

“As I prepare to graduate this summer,” Blakes said in his social media post, “it has been a dream come true to be a part of the Duke University family and brotherhood for the past three years. I want to thank the Duke academic community, coaches, staff, teammates and managers for their contribution and impact on my growth and development on and off the court.”

Blakes, from Somerset, New Jersey, joins starting forward Mark Mitchell and reserve center Christian Reeves in the transfer portal from Duke. The Blue Devils are also losing guard Jared McCain and center Kyle Filipowski to the NBA Draft after both announced their plans to leave school early within one hour of each other on Friday.

With reserve center Ryan Young having exhausted his college eligibility, that’s six players exiting Duke’s program.

Of course, coach Jon Scheyer has six freshman arriving this summer and they comprise the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class. Cooper Flagg, the 6-9 forward named Gatorade national player of the year and the No. 1 player in the class, heads the group along with 7-1 center Khaman Maluach, 6-11 center Patrick Ngongba, 6-6 forward Isaiah Evans, 6-6 forward Darren Harris and 6-5 forward Kon Knueppel.

Duke awaits a decision from 6-2 senior guard Jeremy Roach, who has the option of returning to school for a fifth season. Under the NCAA’s COVID-19 pandemic rules, Roach’s first season with Duke in 2020-21 does not count against eligibility limits.

Duke’s staff received word that Tyrese Proctor, the 6-5 point guard from Australia, plans to stay with the Blue Devils for his junior season. Another 6-5 guard, Caleb Foster, is set to return after a stress fracture in his right ankle cut his freshman season short in February.

That said, Duke has flexibility to add players from the transfer portal. Former practice squad and walk-on guard Spencer Hubbard was put on scholarship last season but is graduating in May and Duke didn’t use all 13 of its scholarships last season.