By: Will Howson
January 19, 2024
Watching Jeremy Roach thrive in his senior year is a refreshing sight that Duke fans aren’t used to.
Grayson Allen was the last four-year starter at Duke, and he graduated six years ago. Before Allen, the last four-year starter was Kyle Singler (2011). When Roach announced that he was coming back for his senior year, many fans (myself included) seemed to overlook the potential leap he could take.
The last few years haven’t been easy for him. Coming off an ACL tear in high-school, Roach struggled to meet the lofty expectations of a 5-star recruit during his freshman season. The difficulties of the COVID season (2020-21) certainly didn’t help much either.
His sophomore year, he played a supporting role to Paolo Banchero, Wendell Moore Jr., Mark Williams, AJ Griffin and at times, his former high-school teammate at Paul VI, Trevor Keels. While he did have two stellar, and crucial, NCAA tournament performances against Michigan State and Texas Tech, he left a lot to be desired for most of the 2021-22 regular season.
After all those teammates / friends left for the NBA and his head coach Mike Krzyzewski retired, it was finally his time to run a team. At times throughout his junior season, he looked like the savvy, controlled and prolific guard he had been in the NCAA tournament the year prior. However, nagging injuries and overall inconsistency led to an unsatisfied season.
The first three years didn’t promote a ton of confidence that he could play like one of the best guards in the country this season. Yet, here we are.
He’s improved in every major statistical category, especially three-point shooting (45%), while also being the senior captain of this young Duke team. What has been most impressive is his consistency, not just from game-to-game but also within games. In the past, he would have stretches within games where he really struggled. We have yet to see that this season. He hasn’t had a no-show game and has played extremely well in all their marquee games, except for Michigan State. The combination of his quickness, shooting and ability to read a defense has made him an ideal guard to run an offense through in a tight late-game situation. At those moments, he truly feels like an extension of head coach Jon Scheyer on the court.
Roach has also provided a swagger to this team.
Not afraid to chirp at his opponent, he helps remind his team and the opposition that this is a blue blood program: this is Duke. They should want everybody's best shot, and they should be prepared for it.
They were not ready for it early in the season. However, Roach's consistent play, as well as his mentorship to the young players has really helped turn this team around. He had several options after last season. He chose to forgo the alternatives to cement his legacy and become a rare senior captain at Duke.
He has crossed the 1,200 point career threshold, and now ranks 47th all-time in scoring at Duke. It appears that, injuries permitting, he may be on track for an All-ACC selection come March.
Will Howson
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