Mason Gillis commits to Duke

Duke’s replenishment of its frontcourt didn’t stop at one transfer portal addition.

Mason Gillis committed to Duke on Monday afternoon. He’s a 6-6, 225-pounder who played the last four seasons at Purdue and has one season of eligibility remaining because the 2020-21 season doesn’t count against players’ eligibility.

Gillis played in all 39 games this past season for Purdue, which lost to UConn in the national championship game. He averaged 6.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, never starting but playing the fifth-most minutes per game (21.2) on the team.

Gillis has been above 40% on 3-pointers in two of the last three seasons, including a 46.8% clip (58 of 124) this past season. His career high was a 29-point game in the 2022-23 season against Penn state in which he made 9 of 12 3-pointers.

He’s the second transfer pickup of the offseason for Duke, which lost nine players to either the NBA or transfer portal. The Blue Devils got a commitment from Maliq Brown (Syracuse) on Saturday — the first scholarship transfer addition for Duke since it brought in Ryan Young (Northwestern) and Jacob Grandison (Illinois) two years ago.

Duke adds Brown and Gillis to a frontcourt with a wealth of freshman talent entering this summer. Projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg figures to start the 3-position and Khaman Maluach, a 7-2 import from the NBA’s Africa academy, is the likely starter at center. Patrick Ngongba II also joins the mix in the frontcourt as a 4- or 5-man, and Duke has some positional versatility in playing freshmen Isaiah Evans, Kon Knueppel or Darren Harris at the 3-spot.