A new era of Duke men's basketball is on the horizon, and with it comes an almost entirely new roster. In this series, the Blue Zone analyzes film on each of the Blue Devils' new signees and transfers for the 2022-23 season. We previously looked at Kale Catchings and Ryan Young. Next, let’s take a look at Jaden Schutt:
Though listed as the sixth-highest-rated freshman on this year’s team, Jaden Schutt has a skill set worth getting excited about. The suburban Chicago native was the star of the 17U UAA circuit in 2021 and led his Yorkville Christian team to the Illinois state championship in 2022.
Schutt was often talked about as being possibly the best shooter in his high school class, and his output in high-caliber matchups in his career thus far show he is ready for the next level. Though not the biggest or most physically imposing shooting guard—à la Trevor Keels—the 6-foot-4, 175-pound newcomer has a strong foundation and a polished shooting form that will make him a deep threat opponents will have to be wary of when he’s on the floor.
His ability to get hot from outside paired with his dominance of the Illinois high school circuit and his Duke commitment quickly drew connections to his new head coach, Jon Scheyer. Blue Devil fans will hope to get the pleasure of watching him grow into one of the great pure scorers to don the Duke uniform, just like his first-year head coach.
For starters, just enjoy this compilation of him splashing home threes—take note of his ability to spot up with his feet squared to the hoop consistently. Schutt catches the ball in the shooting pocket and has a high, quick release that will make defenders regret helping off him. Oh, by the way, it should also be mentioned that this 17-3-point barrage was all in one game.
In one of our first snapshots of one of the newest Blue Devils in action, Schutt was a bright spot on the floor. Despite facing some longer, more talented competition in Duke’s first of two July scrimmages, Schutt knew his role on the floor: filling the lane and knocking down shots.
Enough with the 3-point shooting for now—we’ll save some coverage of Schutt’s shooting for when the regular season rolls around.
While he likely won’t blow by defenders off the dribble in the halfcourt, he has demonstrated quickness without the ball that will greatly assist with spacing, and he likes pushing the pace when he grabs the defensive rebound. Here’s a clip of him putting the pedal to the floor to finish past three waiting defenders in a big win for his high school squad earlier this year.
Given his immense offensive talents, there’s not much out there in terms of footage of his defensive capabilities, but all signs point to him being a competent on-ball defender. In the first snippets we have of him in a Duke blue practice jersey he was matched up guys that were not particularly giving him fits on that end of the floor. It’s only a matter of time before we really get to see more of him one-on-one with ball-dominant guards or skilled shooters like himself.
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Micah Hurewitz is a Trinity senior and was previously a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 118th volume.