Photo: Duke Lands Sion James Commitment in CBB Transfer Portal from Tulane

Former Tulane guard Sion James announced Friday that he has committed to Duke after entering the transfer portal.

James, who is a graduate transfer after spending four seasons with the Green Wave, is rated by 247Sports as a 4-star transfer and the 65th-best transfer in the nation.

He was previously rated a 3-star recruit and the No. 59 point guard in his recruiting class by 247Sports when he committed to Tulane in 2019.

The senior from Sugar Hill, Georgia, enjoyed a career year for Tulane in 2023-24, averaging 14.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game, while shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Tulane went just 14-17 last season and had only one winning campaign during James' tenure, but its 20-11 mark in 2022-23 was its best record since 1999-00.

While the 6'6", 220-pound guard has never played in the NCAA tournament, he brings a wealth of experience to a Duke team that lost several key players from last season.

Kyle Filipowski and Jared McCain, who were the Blue Devils' two leading scorers last season, entered the NBA draft.

Also, No. 3 scorer Jeremy Roach transferred to Baylor and No. 4 scorer Mark Mitchell transferred to Missouri. Additional depth players in Sean Stewart, TJ Power, Jaylen Blakes, Christian Reeves and Jaden Schutt entered the transfer portal as well.

That means Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster, who were fifth and sixth on the team in scoring last season, are the only impact players returning.

Head coach Jon Scheyer led the Blue Devils to a 27-9 record and a trip to the Elite Eight in his second year as head coach last season, but he will have to contend with a ton of roster turnover in 2024-25.

A massive infusion of talent is coming to Duke, though, as 247Sports ranks the Blue Devils' 2024 recruiting class as the best in the nation.

Scheyer secured commitment from four 5-star recruits and two 4-star recruits, including Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach, who are the Nos. 1 and 4 overall recruits in the country, per 247Sports.

Duke also has two 4-star transfers joining the program in addition to James with forward Mason Gillis coming in from Purdue and forward Maliq Brown transferring from Syracuse.

It may take some time for all of Duke's new players to jell, but in terms of ability, there may be no more talented team in college basketball than the Blue Devils in 2024-25.