Duke's John Blackwell tops AP's list of top college basketball transfers

John Blackwell believes Duke head coach Jon Scheyer will push him daily, a message that helped the guard decide to leave Wisconsin for the Blue Devils. Blackwell, who now plays for the second-ranked Duke team, told reporters that Scheyer did not sugarcoat the expectations. The coach said the team would push players every single day, and Blackwell said that approach is what it has been so far.

Blackwell enters his final season at Duke with a proven track record. The 6-foot-5 guard scored 1,505 points in three seasons at Wisconsin, ranking 11th on the Badgers' career scoring list. Last season, he averaged 19.1 points and 5.1 rebounds while Wisconsin posted a 24-11 record. The Badgers lost to High Point 83-82 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Scheyer noted that Blackwell is a proven scorer who understands he does not need the ball to impact winning.

Early performances suggest Blackwell is making an immediate impact. He scored 23 points in a 90-84 win over No. 17 Kansas and 18 points in a 103-64 victory over No. 8 Tennessee. An Atlantic Coast Conference media panel named him a first-team preseason all-ACC selection. He also finished second to Virginia forward Thijs De Ridder in voting for the ACC preseason player of the year.

Several other players moved schools this offseason and are expected to make major contributions. Louisville forward Flory Bidunga, a 6-foot-9 player from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, transferred from Kansas. He earned second-team Associated Press all-Big 12 honors and was named the Big 12 defensive player of the year last season. He averaged 13.3 points and 9 rebounds in 2025-26.

Tennessee guard Juke Harris arrived from Wake Forest, where he scored 21.4 points per game last season. Harris played 1,230 minutes last year, the most by any Wake Forest player since at least the 1974-75 season. Kentucky forward Mila Momcilovic, who transferred from Iowa State, led all Division I players in 3-point baskets and 3-point percentage last season. He made 136 3-pointers at a .487 clip.

Arizona State forward Paulius Murauskas, a Lithuanian from Saint Mary’s, was selected as the Big 12 preseason newcomer of the year. He averaged 18.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game last season. Houston guard Dedan Thomas Jr., who came from LSU, averaged 15.3 points and 6.5 assists in 16 games before an injured left foot ended his 2025-26 season. St. John’s guard Tounde Yessoufou, a transfer from Baylor, set a Baylor freshman scoring record with 605 total points last season while averaging 17.8 points per game.