Next year’s Duke team will look drastically different than the one we’re watching this season. Senior Matt Jones will graduate, graduate student Amile Jefferson will run out of eligibility, and Grayson Allen, Luke Kennard, Jayson Tatum and Harry Giles are all likely candidates to leave early for the NBA Draft.

But the mass exodus won’t include all of Duke’s elite playmakers. Freshman point guard Frank Jackson is expected to return for his sophomore season and lead the Blue Devils.

A consensus five-star recruit from Alpine, Utah, Jackson was an instant impact player for the injury-laden Blue Devils to start the season. He dropped 18 points, four assists and four steals in his college debut against Marist and followed that with a season/career-high 21 points the next time out versus Grand Canyon. He posted double-figure points in his first eight collegiate games.

It’s no surprise that Jackson adjusted quickly to the expectations of a top-tier program. When he transferred to Lone Peak High School as a sophomore, the Utah powerhouse had won three straight 5A state titles. Jackson’s 17.9 points per game as a sophomore helped lead them to a fourth.

He set a school record with a 54-point performance in Las Vegas as a junior and averaged 28.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists as a senior. Jackson was named Utah’s Mr. Basketball as well as the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year. He played in the Jordan Brand Classic and shined in the McDonald’s All-American game, where he was named Co-MVP and Slam Dunk champion.

His jump shot is smooth with great range and he can play above the rim with ease. His freshman season won’t draw quite the same attention as those of former Duke guards Jay Williams and J.J. Reddick, but he stacks up well compared to some other pretty good Duke guards.

Jackson’s 24.3 minutes per game are far more than Nolan Smith’s 14.7 minutes as a freshman, but when you adjust Smith’s numbers to reflect the same amount of time on the court, the similarities are striking.

Will Jackson develop into an ACC Player of the Year like Smith? Who knows. But he’s shown plenty of reasons for optimism and will have every chance to have a huge sophomore season. He’s the only scholarship point guard on this year’s roster and the Blue Devils don’t have a point guard coming in next season.

The possible departure of Allen, Kennard, Tatum and Giles will open up plenty of offensive opportunities for Duke – something a scoring guard like Jackson could take full advantage of. Jackson could be a big boost off the bench the rest of the way for Duke, but next year we’ll really get to see what he can do and it’ll be his turn to run the show in Durham.