Duke men’s basketball freshman guard Jeremy Roach met with the media on Tuesday to give his thoughts about the 2020-21 season. He also talked about his relationship with the team’s other guards, how he feels practices have been going, adjusting to life on campus during the pandemic and more.
Roach, a native of Leesburg, Va., entered Duke as a five-star point guard and the No. 18-ranked overall player nationally by ESPN in this season’s freshman class.
On how he is feeling physically during the first couple weeks of practice:
“I think my body is coming along great since I’ve been down here. I’ve been getting stronger, been getting bigger. Coach (Krzyzewski) has definitely been on me about my weight. I think just coming from the WCAC [Washington Catholic Athletic Conference] and playing for Team Takeover, I’ve just been accustomed to those practices and been used to them over the years, so I’m adjusting pretty well.”
On how his three-point shot is progressing:
“It’s definitely something I’ve got to work on, just getting that consistency in my jump shot. I think it’s coming along and I’m ready to show everybody during the season.”
On what he’s learned so far about playing point guard for head coach Mike Krzyzewski:
“You’ve just got to be very confident, communicate and you’ve got to be very vocal. That’s one of his main things – you’ve got to lead the team, direct everybody and make sure they’re in the right spots. Just be the leader on the team and basically that extra coach on the floor.”
On what it’s like to run this offense as a point guard:
“It’s fun. Just to play fast and to know you’ve got guys on the wing and the bigs that you can kick to, you can dump off to and they’ll make plays too. You’ve got guys like Jalen Johnson, Wendell Moore Jr. and Matt Hurt on the wing. It’s just crazy to play with guys like that and it’s fun to play with that kind of talent.”
On how senior Jordan Goldwire has helped him get acclimated:
“Definitely one of the vets – just a guy that’s got me acclimated here, showing me the way, showing me how practice is going, showing me how day-to-day Duke life goes. He’s been a big part of why I came here and just a big part of my success here.”
On how the playing time will be broken down among the guards on the team:
“We’re learning to play together. Like coach says, there’s not going to be one lineup. It can be different guys in different spots, so just learning to play together, learning to play off the ball and learning to play on the ball.”
On who will be the go-to player when the team needs a basket late in a game:
“I think we’ve got a lot of guys that can be that go-to guy. For one, we’ve got Matt Hurt. We’ve got Wendell Moore Jr., we’ve got Jalen Johnson, we can dump it down to Mark Williams. We’ve just got a lot of guys that I feel like can fit that moment and make the big play and make the right play.”
On what led to his decision to commit to Duke:
“My first decision to go to Duke was I came my junior year to the Duke-UNC game and I just saw the atmosphere, how Coach K carries himself, how he cares so much about of his staff, his team – he just cares for everybody in this organization. That was a big part of me coming to Duke.”
On if he and Jordan Goldwire have had opportunities to play together during practice:
“We’ve definitely gotten a lot of reps in together. It’s fun playing with him. He can bring it up [or] I can bring it up. He can defend full court [and] I can defend full court. It’s really just a fast-paced game when we’re in the game together. That’s my type of game, so I’m ready to play with him.”
On what he’s learned from Jordan Goldwire defensively:
“[He’s] definitely one of the toughest defenders I’ve played against. I’m trying to just pick up on techniques that he does, the little things that he does to make him such a great defender.”
On how far along he thinks the team is since coming to campus later than other teams:
“I feel like when everybody came back, Coach always told us to stay ready – don’t get ready, stay ready. I feel like when we got down here, everything started rolling. I think we’re at a pretty good level right now for the season.”
On how competitive five-on-five practices have been:
“They’ve been very competitive. You’ve got a whole roster full that can be on the floor at any time, so the five-on-five, they’ll be battles. It’s good for us. It gets us ready for the games and all the close moments that we have. Duke is one of the biggest schools in the country, so we’re always going to have that target on our back. It’s iron sharpens iron, so five-on-five is great.”
On if Coach K’s willingness to start a freshman at point guard influenced his decision to come to Duke:
“Yeah, it did, but he always told me that the spot would never be given. He said [for me to] work my butt off and if it’s right then he can give me the starting spot. It’s never going to be a locked starting five. We have so many guys that can play and be on the floor at one time, so just take it one game at a time.”