When discussing Duke’s offseason and the additions Jon Scheyer made to the roster, the conversation typically revolves around Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell and then the elite recruiting class featuring 5-star talents Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, Cameron Williams, Deron Rippey Jr., and Bryson Howard.
But the most underrated pickup has been Belmont’s Drew Scharnowski, a player who seems destined to make a massive impact for the Blue Devils. Perhaps his impact won’t always be felt in the box score, but Scharnowski feels like a perfect replacement for Maliq Brown in his ability to impact the game in a variety of ways without necessarily scoring.
Scharnowski is a capable starting big man in the ACC. In fact, he would probably be the starter at the five down the road in Chapel Hill. But he chose to trust the process with Scheyer, and he’ll be one of the better backup bigs in college basketball, giving Duke an insurance policy for the oft-injured Patrick Ngongba…