Chase Jeter transfer: Duke forward doesn’t pick Gonzaga

The Olynyk Clinic will be taking a year off after Duke forward Chase Jeter announced he will be transferring to Arizona. Gonzaga was one of the teams in the mix for his services.

Jeter was a highly rated recruit coming into college, but he ran into a couple of walls at Duke. The easiest thought process was changing the scenery might help, and it seemed like Jeter and Gonzaga would be a perfect fit. The Zags have developed a reputation of transformations through redshirt years, and Jeter also attended Bishop Gorman High School, where Zach Collins played behind him.

Alas, the appeal of playing for Arizona was too strong, and who can necessarily blame him. Between Sean Miller and Lorenzo Romar, you have one of the strongest one-two recruiting punches in the entire country.

Either way, this is a bit of a blow for the Zags, if you want to paint it like that. Jeter would have sat out the 2017-18 season, and been prepared for the 2018-19 season. The Zags have plenty of open scholarships to give, and don’t have any real front court presence on scholarship, outside of Jacob Larsen, Rui Hachimura, and Corey Kispert. The numbers were there for Jeter, and the Zags could use some help in the front court.

At the same time, prior to about a month ago, the scholarship chart looked the exact same, and that is the chart the coaching staff have been recruiting off of. My guess is this is just a slight bump in the road, but nothing Tommy Lloyd and company can’t handle.