Duke Basketball Blazing New Trail With Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje

Fifth-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer suggested a two-and-done path will likely become a trend for the Blue Devils.

Oct 3, 2026; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje (30) during the Countdown to Craziness at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There have already been seven one-and-done Duke basketball talents come through Durham across the first four years of the Jon Scheyer era alone. And the Blue Devils, once again loaded with talent, have been home to 31 such players since 2011 (33 overall).

Now, though, it appears a planned-out two-and-done route is taking shape as a potentially equally popular option for the powerhouse program and the type of the top-shelf preps it routinely attracts.

The NBA requires draft entrants to turn 19 years old during the calendar year of a draft. Plus, they must be at least one year removed from high school. Nothing has changed there as of late.

But consider that NIL figures are on the rise. Pairing that with 17-year-old forward/center Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje's decision to reclassify from 2027 to 2026 and commit to the Blue Devils back in the spring — now making the projected 2028 lottery pick the youngest Duke basketball freshman since Mike Gminski arrived as just a few months younger back in 1976 — there's reason to believe Boumtje Boumtje won't be the only player with two-year sights in Durham this decade and beyond.

Jon Scheyer on Benefits of Duke Basketball Two-And-Done Possibilities

Judging by how Jon Scheyer explained it to Duke Blue Devils On SI at ACC Media Day in Charlotte on Wednesday morning, fans should pretty much go ahead and expect to see this type of early arrival much more often moving forward.

"I promise you that's the first of many guys to do it in years to come."

I asked Jon Scheyer about Duke basketball being a trend-setter with its recruitment of Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje. Scheyer also joked about Cooper Flagg's birth certificate in his response to me here. Have a… pic.twitter.com/XVI89Pw51d

— Matt Giles (@MattGilesBD) October 7, 2026

"Well, we tried to do it two years ago and fake [Cooper Flagg's] birth certificate to make him two weeks younger..." Scheyer joked.

"You're going to see this more," he continued in talking about Boumtje Boumtje, a 7-foot-2, 250-pound five-star prospect from Florida who starred for FC Barcelona in Spain and for Team USA in FIBA U17 World Cup action over the summer and is the son of former Georgetown and NBA big man Ruben Boumtje Boumtje. "You're going to see this more. It's just the way college has changed.

Oct 3, 2026; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Davils head coach Jon Scheyer during the Countdown to Craziness at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"The fact that you get a guy like 'Jojo' for two years to grow with him and to have the continuity, I promise you that's the first of many guys to do it in years to come — although, I don't think it's for everybody. I think you have to be really specific. From our point of view and also if I was giving advice, I would be very careful about if I had a kid in that position of who could actually do that."

Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, who prevailed in the dunk contest at Duke's Countdown to Craziness, and the rest of Jon Scheyer's fourth batch of Blue Devils tip off their preseason slate when they host Belmont in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 7 p.m. ET Thursday (ACCNX).