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What type of player could Duke add via transfer portal if Trevor Keels doesn’t return?

Duke could use another shooter for next season’s basketball team.

Baylor Scheierman qualifies as that, having made 50.8% of his shots at South Dakota State last season, including 46.9% of his 3-pointers. So, too, does A.J. Green, who shot 41% overall (38.7% on 3-pointers) at Northern Iowa last season.

Duke’s coaches point to current Los Angeles Clippers guard Luke Kennard as an example of how a left-handed shooter like Scheierman can thrive with the Blue Devils. Kennard was the ACC tournament MVP when Duke won the 2017 ACC championship before becoming the No. 7 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

“They were talking about Luke Kennard,” Scheierman said Monday. “He played similar to me and that was a big, big thing. They talked about just kind of being able to dribble, pass, shoot, and obviously how it looks as a lefty.”

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In the end, though, the Nebraska-born Scheierman decided that if he does play college basketball next season, it will be close to home at Creighton in Omaha.

Green, though, has yet to pick a new college home and Duke remains interested in adding him.

On Monday, both Green and Scheierman participated in the NBA’s G League Elite Camp at Wintrust Arena, hoping to get the feedback they need to stay in the draft pool and forego their college eligibility.

“Going through this week,” Scheierman said, “we’d like to get the feedback, obviously seeing what people say, and then ultimately make a decision before June 1. We’re obviously hoping to get, you know, picked anywhere from one to 60 or 58, whatever it is this year.”

Both Green and Scheierman joined a host of other college players maximizing their options by entering their names in the NCAA transfer portal while also declaring for the NBA draft.

Scheierman had Duke among his five finalists for a new college home.

The 6-6 shooting guard said he had “three or four” conversations with Duke’s coaching staff about what role he would play if he joined the Blue Devils.

“It was good,” Scheierman said. “But I just didn’t necessarily have the relationship with them that I had with other schools.”

Green has already played three full seasons and part of another at Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley Conference. He has another year of eligibility thanks to the NCAA’s pandemic protocols. He only played three games during the 2020-21 season.

He’s proven to be the kind of perimeter scorer Duke could use. He was named MVC player of the year in 2020, when he averaged 19.7 points per game, and won it a second time last spring.

Even as schools like Duke and Iowa State court him, Green has also not ruled out returning to play at Northern Iowa. His father, Kyle, is an assistant coach at Iowa State after previously coaching his son at Northern Iowa.

Of course, Green could also stay in the draft pool.

On Monday, during a 40-minute G League Elite Camp scrimmage, Green hit 4 of 10 shots overall, including 3 of 8 3-pointers, to score 11 points in 19 minutes, 19 seconds of play. He added three assists with no turnovers.

South Dakota State was the only Division I school that offered Scheierman a scholarship following his prep career at Aurora (Neb.) High School. Still, he thrived there, winning the Summit League player of the year last season when the Jackrabbits went 30-5, including an 18-0 league mark, and reached the NCAA tournament.

Providence posted a 66-57 win over the 13th-seeded Jackrabbits, even though Scheierman produced 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Scheierman is working hard to impress NBA scouts enough that he’ll start his professional career this summer. He played 17 minutes and 14 seconds in a G League Elite Camp 40-minute scrimmage on Monday, going scoreless while missing three shots, including two 3-pointers.

If he returns to college, it will be with Creighton and he anticipates the Bluejays having a talented team.

“The way they play,” Scheierman said, “I think it really fits my game and how I like to play. So I feel like I can come in and make an impact right away. And they have a great team coming back and I think we can make a deep run in March as well.”

Meanwhile, Duke awaits word if 6-4 guard Trevor Keels, who has declared for the draft, will stay on the path toward professional basketball or return to the Blue Devils. Keels is among the 76 players invited to participate in the NBA’s scouting combine beginning Wednesday in Chicago.

Scheierman hopes to play well enough Monday and Tuesday to be invited to stick around and compete in the full scouting combine.

If not, he’ll play for Creighton next season.