EXCLUSIVE: John Blackwell is headed to Duke! Why did he pick the Blue Devils? | FIELD OF 68

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:15]Heat. Hey, Heat.

[00:00:22]All right, welcome in a special episode of the field of 68. I'm Jeff Goodman here with John Blackwell, my number one player in the portal uh this season and we had quite a few of those players in the portal this year, John. U so that that's uh that's an honor. That's an honor to be my number one player in the portal.

[00:00:51]No, you earned it, my man. You earned it. Uh, incredible year this year uh with the Badgers. I know it didn't end the way you wanted to. Um, but certainly what you've done over three years really, really impressive and, uh, you are headed from the Big 10 to the ACC and you're going from Wisconsin to Duke.

[00:01:11]Tell me why.

[00:01:12]>> Yes, sir.

[00:01:13]>> Um, so first of all, I just want to thank Wisconsin. um the whole fan base of Wisconsin. Um the coaching staff and um just everybody who was involved in uh my time at Wisconsin. Um but why I chose Duke, it just felt right. Um, it felt right for me from the jump. Um, when I talked to coach uh, Sher um, and Coach Diddley um, hit me up and we and we and we chatted and um, you know, it just it just felt like the right situation for me. Uh, then when I got on campus, it just confirmed everything that I was looking for.

[00:01:52]>> What was what was the process like?

[00:01:53]because I know your dad played at Illinois, so everybody thought you were like a lock to go to the Alanai and go to Champagne and >> then obviously you had Duke, you had some other big-time schools. Uh just took a visit uh to Durham. What was the whole process like though? Was it overwhelming >> for me? No. um my agent uh Todd um and Alexis did a great job um of narrowing the process down, narrowing my schools of who I was interested in and then we went about it the right way. Um, we talked to schools. Um, we set up meetings with schools. They came out here to LA to watch me work out and, you know, had lunch and dinner and those things. And, um, once we felt, uh, it was the best situations, we took the visits to the best situations. Um, but it wasn't too much. Um, it was way quicker than a high school recruitment.

[00:02:49]It was just bam, bam, bam, you got to find a school to go to. But, uh, it's just a blessing. Honestly, it's a blessing for me to be in this position to be able to just pick the school that I want to go to and, um, not feel rushed. Um, and then obviously go to a prestigious school like Duke.

[00:03:10]>> Yeah, you mentioned before and I I'll give your agent some a pub here because he deserves it. Ty Remisar, a guy I've known a long time and and I do think there's something to be said for that, right? hiring the right agent. Uh, a guy that's obviously done it with with NBA players, done it for a long time. It makes your job a whole lot easier when you're going through it. He can sift through >> some of the BS and and the other things that you don't have to deal with.

[00:03:32]>> Um, all right. Give me give me kind of what Duke sold you on in terms of your role. Obviously, you and Nick Boy, man, you guys are fun to watch and Nick's my guy as well. And talk about a big personality. Nick's got that and you guys gel quickly. Uh what was it that Duke sold you on in terms of like you know your role there next year?

[00:03:54]>> Uh obviously what they showed me was my my role how I would fit in the NBA. Um for me I wanted to be more on the ball.

[00:04:02]I'm 6'4 so I'm naturally a point guard.

[00:04:06]Uh and that's just the things I didn't do at Wisconsin. Um there's no knock to them. It's just how I went to elevate my game to go to the next level. Um, so I I think that's what sold me on them and then just the guys around me and competing for a national championship uh with those guys and um you know and and I'm surrounded by pros um throughout practice and we got so many good guys coming in and so many good guys returning. Um yeah, like I said, it just felt like the best spot for me.

[00:04:41]Is that the big thing that you're kind of hoping to showcase this year that maybe you didn't? I mean, Nick had the ball in his hands a lot last year. We know that. Yeah.

[00:04:48]>> U Is that something that you feel like, hey, it's an underrated part of my game?

[00:04:52]And I know you grew up as a point guard, >> so to be able to have the ball in your hands and make people better. Is that something that you feel like, hey, I can really show people that that side of my game?

[00:05:03]Yeah, obviously just showing my playmaking skills, be able to make the right reads through pick and rolls, um through different actions, NBA pro actions. Um that's one area I want to show. Um and then the next area was just my defensive ability. Um for me, that's that's that's the biggest jump for me that I need to take. Um just being a pest on defense. I've I've talked about it for three years, but obviously this senior year has to be my best defensive year. Um and I know Coach Sh is going to push me to do that. So, um, yeah.

[00:05:34]>> All right. You know, Duke fans, they watch a lot of ACC ball, a lot of Duke, Carolina, NC State. They maybe don't watch a lot of of Wisconsin, Big 10. So, give them, give a Duke fan that has not seen you play yet, John, a scouting report on yourself, strengths, weaknesses, and then if you think you play like maybe somebody else in the league.

[00:05:57]For me, I would say um Duke fans, um you're getting a dog, you're getting a competitor, um a guy who's fun and enjoying to watch. Um and you're just getting the ultimate team player. Um whether it's getting 10 boards again, getting 10 boards that game, getting the stop late, making the right pass late.

[00:06:18]Um I think that's what you guys are going to get. Um you're obviously get, if you watch my highlights, I'm going score. I can score at all three levels, but um some nouns to give you is that that's that's who I am. A competitor um and a winner. Um and then to describe my game as uh I don't know right now, um I would say defensively this year I'm trying to be like a Drew Holiday. Um and then offensively I think I'm just going to be me. Um whether it's getting to the paint, making the right read and throwing the lob or kick it out to the shooters, um or coach needed me to knock down five threes. I'm going to try to do it all to help my team win.

[00:07:06]>> Has it hit you? I don't remember what your recruitment was coming out of high school. I don't think it was huge. Has it hit you that you're going to play at Duke? Like who who recruited you out of high school?

[00:07:16]So, my recruitment came down to Wisconsin, loyal to Chicago. Um, I committed to Wisconsin really early. Um, I think I had three more sessions left of UIBL, but it didn't matter. That was where I wanted to be. Um, obviously some schools came after when they obviously saw me play more on the UIBL session, but I was very happy with where I was at Wisconsin. Um, they were on me from the jump. Um, and I wanted to play in the Big 10. All I know was the Big 10. My dad played in the Big 10. My uncles played football in the Big 10. Um, and I'm a Michigan, guys. So, um, yeah, that was my recruitment. Um, it hasn't hit me. No, hasn't hit me yet. Um, I I thought about it on the play like, man, this is like, you know, you're living out your dreams. Obviously, you know, this is just one step to the to the goal I want to accomplish and that's getting drafted and playing in the NBA. But man, I mean, playing at Duke, like every kid can imagine playing at Duke, Kentucky, Carolina. Um, and I'm just blessed to be in this position to play at this, you know, the to me, to be honest, the best school right now in basketball. Um, so yeah.

[00:08:30]>> Yeah. You got you got Duke and and you came in I say this to all you guys now.

[00:08:34]Uh you came in at the right time in college where where the money's good as well.

[00:08:39]>> I mean it's true like >> you know you think about it when you first came in it was NIL just started to be a thing and you weren't getting I know you weren't getting paid much at Wisconsin and I'm not gonna ask you what you're getting paid now but I know it's a lot of money. It it's got to be kind of >> Yeah. I can tell you I didn't get paid a dime to go to Wisconsin. That was a blessing, you know. It was a blessing cuz I >> cuz I grinded for everything I got, you know. Um and >> um I thank them for that because, you know, coming from that and coming in and I I didn't know what NIL was coming into college. I just wanted to play basketball and be on the court. Um, >> so coming in, you know, I, uh, it's just a blessing, you know, like it's just a blessing. And I I feel like these the the college kids deserve it. I know there's some craziness that goes on within it. Um, but I mean, these kids, >> hey, you are deserving. I >> I'll say this and and I've been pretty clear on my my my deal with that. Like the guys that have earned you, like the guys that have produced like you, I think it's different. I think it's different. I think you got to come in and prove it. And I think it's hard. You know, some of these freshman are making crazy money and they haven't they have they're getting it because of their potential or their ranking or whatnot.

[00:09:57]You went out there and you you earned it, my man. Like you earned it.

[00:10:02]>> Yeah, >> it's different.

[00:10:04]>> So, >> yeah. Oh, yeah. It is what it is.

[00:10:07]>> Yeah. Congrats. Don't, you know, save it. Make sure you save your money. All right.

[00:10:13]>> Give it to your financial guy.

[00:10:15]>> Yeah.

[00:10:16]>> Yeah. Let him take care of it. Let him let him put it in somewhere it makes a lot of interest. All right. Lot of interest. That's the key.

[00:10:22]>> I got you.

[00:10:23]>> And uh good luck this season. Can't wait to see you down in Durham at Duke. Uh I I think the fit is could not be better.

[00:10:30]Again, I think they needed you as much as you needed them. And it's going to be fun to watch and see if you can uh you can get John Sh his first national title because uh he's gotten close.

[00:10:40]>> Let's do it. Thank you.

[00:10:42]>> All right. Thanks, John. Appreciate it, man. Congrats again.

[00:10:45]Thank you.