Why Tyrese Proctor and Jeremy Roach are set to boost Duke basketball’s tempo this season
The one-and-done era made it rare for Duke basketball to maintain much consistency from season to season anywhere on the court.
This season, with four starters returning, the Blue Devils have experience that’s boosting expectations to the highest levels.
The fact that two of those returning players are guards makes the outlook all the more promising for Jon Scheyer’s second season as Duke’s head coach.
Last season, Jeremy Roach and Tyrese Proctor started 28 games together during Duke’s 27-9 season that included an ACC championship. That included the season’s final 16 games, a stretch where the Blue Devils went 13-3.
The last time Duke returned a pair of guards who had each started that many games together was the 2016-17 team with Grayson Allen and Matt Jones. That team went on to win an ACC title before Jones graduated.
Roach and Proctor hope to end their time together in a Duke uniform with an ACC title at the minimum plus larger accomplishments.
“We’re pretty deep,” said Roach, a returning team captain who is entering his senior season. “Very deep, very versatile. We’re going to play faster this year, and I think we’re going to be very special.”
Both Proctor and Roach considered leaving for professional basketball after last season. After reclassifying, coming to Duke a year early and averaging 9.4 points per game as a freshman, Proctor’s feedback from the NBA was he’d likely be a second-round pick. So he didn’t enter the draft pool.
Roach did enter his name in the draft but, after averaging 13.6 points per game in a junior season marred by a toe injury, he withdrew in May before working out for any teams.
“I kind of wanted to get myself back to 100% healthy and finish out my four years at Duke,” Roach said. “Best school in the country. I wouldn’t want it any other way than this. Obviously, getting a national championship is the goal.”
Even with starting forwards Kyle Filipowski and Mark Mitchell also back, Roach and Proctor’s play will go a long way toward determining if Duke can reach that ultimate goal.
Neither shot as well from behind the 3-point line as they wanted last season, with Roach hitting 34.2% and Proctor making 32%. Both expect to improve there while also fueling the ball movement that will make the Blue Devils a better scoring team overall.
But it won’t all be on Roach and Proctor. Incoming freshmen guards Caleb Foster and Jared McCain, both five-star recruits, have already shown in summer practices they can be positive contributors.
So don’t be surprised if Scheyer has three ball-handlers on the court together with the 7-foot Filipowski and the 6-9 Mitchell as the big men.
This has the looks of a different team than last season, when the Blue Devils averaged just 72 points per game while making 45.2% of their shots. That was the fewest points Duke averaged for a season since the 2006-07 team’s 70.4.
“We had a hard time scoring last year during certain stretches,” Scheyer said. “I expect us to be a much better shooting team. Much better spacing, which hopefully opens up opportunities for Flip and for our drivers, for Mark, to get inside as well. So I think the three-guard lineups, spacing and pace is really something that we’ll be emphasizing this year.”
The deep backcourt, which also includes junior Jaylen Blakes and sophomore Jaden Schutt, means the Blue Devils can also alter their defensive plan. If the guards can pressure the ball and force live-ball turnovers, that should lead to more transition baskets and a higher scoring output.
A native Australian, Proctor developed into one of the ACC’s better on-ball defenders as the season progressed. He began looking more comfortable on offense as he adjusted to the college game.
“People didn’t know who Tyrese Proctor was at the beginning of last year,” Scheyer said. “Now everybody does. I think Tyrese welcomes that. That’s what he wants. But it’s just every day doing it. He’s been working his butt off this summer. He looks great. But I know he came back to be coached hard, be pushed and he’s gonna have a big responsibility this year.”
Along with Roach and Proctor, both the 6-5 Foster and the 6-3 McCain are already solidly built at 197 pounds, so they look capable of not being pushed around. That should help them on offense and defense.
With all that talent and experience, the Blue Devils’ ball-handlers certainly have the look of a group that can lead Duke to big things this season
This story was originally published July 19, 2023 at 7:00 AM.