As the beginning of basketball season is near, the Blue Zone provides a detailed preview of each player on Duke men's basketball's 2023-24 roster. We've already looked at Stanley Borden, Spencer Hubbard and Neal Begovich. Next up is sophomore guard Jaden Schutt:
Year: Sophomore
Height: 6-foot-5
Position: Guard
Last year’s stat line: 2.1 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 0.4 APG
Game breakdown: Jaden Schutt is aptly named: He excels with his elbow aimed at the hoop. As an incoming freshman, the Yorkville, Ill., native carried a reputation for mastery behind the arc, finishing his senior year of high school with a 39% success rate with 3-pointers and an average of 24.6 points per game. In his rookie year, Schutt proved that he’s still got the arm for it — he landed 35% of his threes — despite averaging just seven minutes of playing time a game. The downside of his limited playing time entails a lack of comfort on the court coming from Schutt, who undoubtedly knows how to make a basket but does not have the experience of guards like sophomore Tyrese Proctor and senior Jeremy Roach. The Yorkville Christian alum has the talent to be an electric player, but he simply has not had the opportunity with the amount of elite guards on the team. What he does have, though, is inimitable dedication; anyone in the stands in Cameron Indoor Stadium can see that when Schutt gets his hands on the ball — or even just his feet on the court — he’s focused and working hard.
Role on the team: Most of Schutt’s court time last season was concentrated in early non-conference matchups where the Blue Devils had a sizable lead. Because of his limited opportunities in Cameron and evident abilities as a guard, many skeptical college basketball followers expected Schutt to transfer after his freshman year. However, the midwesterner never even entered the portal.
“This is my team, this is my home,” Schutt said at preseason media day back in September.
The Yorkville local also shared that he spent the offseason largely in the weight room or watching film. He’s working, then, to be as much of an asset for the Blue Devils as possible. Still, Schutt shares a locker room with some of the best guards in the country: Proctor and Roach along with junior Jaylen Blakes and freshmen Jared McCain and Caleb Foster. Schutt will have to earn his minutes on a potentially even more competitive court than last year’s. It may help that he has earned some of his stripes now by sticking with Duke and putting in the work to improve. Whatever the case, it looks like head coach Jon Scheyer and the rest of the Blue Devil squad can rely on Schutt to be a steadfast member of their team.
NBA comparison: A shooting guard for the Atlanta Hawks, Bogdan Bogdanovic is like an older version of Schutt, with a bigger role and a slightly more consistent shot. Standing at 6-foot-5 just like his younger counterpart, Bogdanovic plays the role of starting shooter with a knack for scoring behind the arc, touting a 40.6% 3-point success rate in the 2022-23 regular season.
Projected stats: 7.2 MPG, 2.4 PPG, 0.9 RPG
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Sophie Levenson is a Trinity junior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.