Jaemyn Brakefield became a rarely seen Duke one-and-done by announcing Wednesday that he intends to enter the transfer portal after his freshman season. Brakefield averaged 3.5 points and 2.5 boards but played only 12.5 minutes per game in the 2020-2021 season.
A former top-50 recruit, Brakefield was the fifth-highest ranked prospect of Duke’s third-ranked 2020 recruiting class. He committed to Duke out of Huntington Prep over offers from Michigan, Louisville and Virginia along with a number of other suitors.
Brakefield played a combined eight minutes in Duke’s final two games and logged fewer than 10 minutes on nine different occasions this season. When given an opportunity he produced, like when he played 29 minutes against No. 7 Virginia and scored 11 points as a catalyst off the bench. But those were few and far between as he fell out of the rotation on a team strapped with depth at his position.
For Brakefield, transferring to another spot with a bigger opportunity could revive his career in a way Duke probably could not offer. With five-stars Paolo Banchero and AJ Griffin already signed and five-star Patrick Baldwin Jr. a reported Duke lean, playing time next season might’ve been sparse for him had he opted to return.
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