Ex-Duke Basketball Guard Leaves NC State Stunned in Blacksburg

Two-year Duke basketball player Jaden Schutt matched his career-high with a clutch home performance.

Former Duke basketball guard Jaden Schutt | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Jaden Schutt never tallied a double-digit scoring outing in his 14 appearances as a Duke basketball freshman in 2022-23. And the former four-star recruit from Illinois sat out his second season with the Blue Devils due to a knee injury.

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But 17 games into his redshirt sophomore campaign with the Virginia Tech Hokies (8-9, 3-3 ACC), the 20-year-old Schutt has scored 10 or more points seven times. Those occasions include his 17 points in Wednesday night's dramatic 79-76 home win over the NC State Wolfpack (9-8, 2-4 ACC), matching his career-high mark and now standing alone as his highest total in conference play.

Schutt proved smooth when it mattered most against the Wolfpack. Capping off the Hokies' comeback from 15 down in the second half, the 6-foot-5, 205-pound sharpshooter caught fire to power a 9-0 run across the final 2:47 of action in Cassell Coliseum.

He accounted for seven of those final nine points, not to mention Virginia Tech's last three rebounds.

In 29 minutes as a starter, on top of his career-high points while shooting 6-for-10 from the field, 3-for-6 beyond the arc, and 2-for-2 at the foul line, Schutt recorded five rebounds and two assists.

Now, Jaden Schutt, once a member of Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer's first-ever recruiting haul in 2022, is averaging 8.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists for the Hokies, shooting 36.8 percent from the field, 35.0 percent from deep, and 76.5 percent at the charity stripe.

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