Jon Scheyer Reels In His First Portal Commitment

NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 19: Lipscomb Bisons forward Charlie Williams (33) lifts a shot over the block attempt of Belmont Bruins forward Drew Scharnowski (11) during a game between the Belmont Bruins and Lipscomb Bisons, November 19, 2025, at the Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

One of the great tells of the modern era is how well coaches work the portal. At Kansas State, Jerome Tang started out great, but then bombed, largely because his portal players were not good fits, and he was fired this spring. At Kentucky, Mark Pope paid a fortune for what turned out to be a mediocre team this year. For all his bluster, Will Wade didn’t do a very good job with the portal in his one season at NC State.

Jon Scheyer, by contrast, has used the portal to augment his talent. Look at some of the players he has brought in during his time as Duke’s coach: Ryan Young, Maliq Brown, Sion James, Mason Gillis, Jack Scott, and Ieanyi Ufochukwu.

All of these guys have had specific roles, which are primarily to supplement the core in a particular way.

It looks like that’ll be the case with Duke’s first portal addition, Belmont forward Drew Scharnowski.

A 6-9, 230-lb native of Burlington, Illinois, he comes from a basketball family. His father was a college player, and his brother, Max, played at Alabama.

Scharnowski is a pretty good athlete and defender, so he should be able to carve out a decent role. A redshirt sophomore, Scharnowski will have at least two years of eligibility, and three if the NCAA gives players a fifth season, as is being discussed.