Less than 24 hours after landing their first transfer pledge this cycle in Belmont Bruins redshirt sophomore forward Drew Scharnowski, fifth-year head coach Jon Scheyer and his Duke basketball staff hosted one of the top remaining undecided players in the portal, Wisconsin Badgers junior guard John Blackwell, on Monday.
And on Monday evening, Blackwell posted to his Instagram Story the following photo of himself wearing a Blue Devil jersey while on his official visit in Durham:
John Blackwell's Instagram Story pic.twitter.com/2BMCLIEGsH
– Matt Giles (@MattGilesBD) April 20, 2026
Early last week, Blackwell announced six finalists for his coveted services as a versatile backcourt bucket-getter: the Duke Blue Devils, Alabama Crimson Tide, Arizona Wildcats, Illinois Fighting Illini, Louisville Cardinals, and UCLA Bruins. Plus, the 6-foot-4, 203-pound sharpshooter, who is also still testing the NBA Draft waters, set a May 4 decision date.
Now, though, it looks as though three primary contenders have emerged in the high-profile transfer sweepstakes: Duke, Louisville, and UCLA. The 21-year-old Blackwell previously visited UCLA and is expected to check out Louisville in person later this week.
Duke Basketball Transfer Target John Blackwell Fresh Off All-Big Ten Campaign
As a junior and full-time starter this past season, Blackwell averaged a career-high 19.1 points to go along with his 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 steals for a Wisconsin squad that finished 24-11 overall, fifth in the Big Ten standings, and No. 25 in the final AP Top 25 Poll.
He shot 43.0 percent from the field, 38.9 percent beyond the arc (on 7.3 attempts from three per game), and 85.9 percent at the charity stripe en route to earning All-Big Ten Third Team and All-Big Ten Tournament Team honors.
Wherever Blackwell ends up, assuming he withdraws his name from the NBA Draft to remain in the college ranks, he'll have one year of eligibility remaining.
Despite being a mere three-star recruit when he arrived at Wisconsin out of Brother Rice High School (Mich.) ahead of the 2023-24 season, Blackwell now boasts a five-star rating as a transfer. According to 247Sports, he currently ranks No. 3 overall and No. 1 among shooting guards in the portal.
Duke basketball has compiled a four-deep class on the 2026 recruiting trail. Meanwhile, in addition to the program welcoming Scharnowski to The Brotherhood, two 2025-26 Blue Devils have already officially announced their plans to return to Durham next season: junior-to-be big man Patrick Ngongba II and rising sophomore guard Cayden Boozer.
Stay tuned toDuke Blue Devils On SIfor more Duke basketball news.
As always, make sure you stay up to date with all Duke content by following us on Facebook, by clickingHERE, and following us on X (formerly Twitter)HERE.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/duke as Top-Shelf Transfer Shows Off Duke Basketball Jersey During Visit.