As the Duke Blue Devils move on to the 2026-27 season, the roster will have some familiar faces. While they lost both Cameron Boozer, Isaiah Evans and Maliq Brown, they do return a lot of talent.

They also welcome in the top recruiting class and a top 10 transfer portal class.

Jon Scheyer and his staff should have another roster that is capable of making a run to the national championship. With Duke reaching the Elite Eight in three of Scheyer's first four seasons, they are looking to finally get over the top. 

Among the newcomers for Duke is international big man Joaquim Boumtje-Boumtje, a player who will eventually play a big role for the Blue Devils. The FC Barcelona B product picked the Blue Devils over a few other programs that showed interest, including rival North Carolina. 

At just 17-years-old, there is a lot of intrigue about the international prospect and now we are finding out why he picked the Blue Devils. 

Boumtje-Boumtje drew a lot of interest from other programs, and looking at his skill set, you can see why. But when it came down to it, Duke was the best fit and a big reason why was Scheyer. 

"We pitched the idea (playing college basketball) to Duke and a few other schools, and they were happy to take me," Boumtje-Boumtje said via Krysten Peek at the Team USA U-17 trials. "So I had to find the great pick, and I think the development from Jon Scheyer and Duke was the best option for me."

The recruit admitted that he thought he needed a year of american basketball before his true freshman year at Duke. Instead, he wound up picking Duke where he will have to stay for at least two more seasons. 

Duke fans should be happy that they landed the talented big man. Scheyer was happy too. 

"He was really happy," Boumtje-Boumtje said. "I got on a phone call, we kind of surprised him. My mom and dad called and was like 'we need a question' and they added me in. I was wearing a hat, so I had to switch the hat. He was really excited."