Duke Basketball: Turkish Transfer Guard Reportedly Attracts Interest

Duke basketball looks like the frontrunner to land former four-year Tulane guard Sion James. But even if the Blue Devils prevail in that transfer battle, they'd still have two scholarships available.

It wouldn't be a surprise if head coach Jon Scheyer awards one of those scholarships to 7-footer Stanley Borden, a native of Istanbul, Turkey. He joined the Duke basketball family in September 2021 and is now the only player remaining from retired legend Mike Krzyzewski's final Blue Devil team.

Perhaps Borden has played a part in the Duke staff's apparent new interest in outbound UC Irvine freshman Derin Saran, who also hails from Istanbul. And it's worth noting that the 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard attended Asheville School (N.C.) as a prep, so he has some familiarity with the state.

NFcomtr, a page specializing in all things Turkish basketball, reported over the weekend that Jon Scheyer's Blue Devils are now on the list of potential suitors who have reached out to Saran, joining the likes of Stanford, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Georgia, and Marquette.

In his lone season at UC Irvine, the 20-year-old Derin Saran averaged 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting 50.2 percent from the field, 34.9 percent beyond the arc, and 80.0 percent at the charity stripe.

Saran's double-figure scoring average came in only 19.1 minutes per game off the bench across 31 outings for an Anteaters squad that finished 24-10 overall and boasted the best record in Big West play at 17-3.