Even if Jalen Johnson’s 3-pointer never improves — 11-for-55 across 17 Nike EYBL games this year — the future Duke basketball forward may one day soon deserve significant credit for the return of the title “Shooter U” to Durham.
First, his behind-the-scenes recruiting efforts paid off on Wednesday when combo guard D.J. Steward — 38-for-97 from deep in EYBL play — announced his decision to join Johnson and point guard Jeremy Roach on Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s list of five-star 2020 commits.
One day later, Johnson went back to work by way of flattery, using a three-word tweet to reiterate his assessment of a 2021 five-star from his home state who has the mechanics to potentially become — should he choose Duke — the silkiest-shooting Blue Devil since J.