DURHAM, N.C. — Duke's John Blackwell has that look.

He’s good. He knows it. Put a basketball in his hands and he’s going to score with it.

“Hunt the rim,” as he puts it.

Blackwell doesn’t come off as cocky. Confident, yes. Confident of his ability to score against anyone he plays, yes. But not cocksure.

Blackwell was brought in this season to provide scoring for the Blue Devils, who often leaned on Cam Boozer and Isaiah Evans for the big buckets and big scoring games. They’re both in the NBA, leaving after last season, after Duke won another ACC championship but fell just short of reaching the Final Four.

Out of the portal came Blackwell. A lot of schools wanted the 6-foot-5 guard, and in this new era of college sports were willing to pay for him, but his decision was to leave Wisconsin and the Big Ten for Duke and the ACC.

“It was the coaching staff and how intentional they were in me getting better,” Blackwell said Tuesday, “We talked about the things I need to work on to get better. That did it.”

And Duke’s “Brotherhood.” That was another factor, he said. It was the chance to be a part of it and all that comes with it: the lineage of national championships and basketball excellence, as legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski liked to say.

Blackwell and Duke against Tennessee

Blackwell had a highly efficient statistical line Tuesday in Duke’s 103-64 exhibition victory over Tennessee as the No. 2 Blue Devils hammered a Vols team ranked No. 8 in preseason. He hit six of eight shots, including four of six 3-pointers, in scoring 18 points in 21 minutes. He had five rebounds, a pair of assists and one turnover, and his defense was solid.

Duke coach Jon Scheyer said the ball got “stuck” too much on the offensive end in Duke’s first exhibition, a 102-62 win over Belmont. The Devils had the ball zipping around Tuesday, driving the lane and dishing to open shooters, or breaking out and running the floor.

“We’re relentless and we’re versatile,” Blackwell said. “We have a bunch of guys who can come in and give us a spark. There’s so much depth and we play good off each other.

“Coach tells us to give it all you got, don’t coast. That’s been a thing for me, especially coming from Wisconsin where I played 30-plus minutes and sometimes guard a weaker player other than a top guy.

“Coach says to keep our foot on the gas at all times. Coach was preaching that and the guys were preaching that.”

Freshman Deron Rippey Jr., came off the bench, often had the ball in his hands and was dazzling at times, keeping Cameron Indoor Stadium hopping. A quick-on-quick guard with hops, the guy they call “Rip” was Duke’s leading scorer with 21 points in a showcase of what can be and what’s to come.

“I love his competitive spirit,” Scheyer said.

Blackwell had his moments, too. Early in the second half, he went rim-hunting. He buried a corner 3. He then reeled off seven straight points – a fast-break dunk, a pullup 3, a spinning fallaway jumper in the lane – as Duke ran its lead to 70-38.

“He averaged 20 points a game last year at Wisconsin. That’s a big-time scorer,” Duke’s Dame Sarr said Tuesday. “He has a lot of gravity towards him. He’s our man, our glue person. And when you’re around people you like and enjoy being with, it makes it so easy to play.”

Basketball stats in high school and at Wisconsin

Rated a three-star player in high school, Blackwell was considered a 5-star portal transfer and the No. 1 shooting guard. At Wisconsin, he played 107 games and had 1,505 career points. He averaged 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists last season, scoring 26 last season in the Badgers’ upset of then-No. 2 Michigan – the eventual national championship – in a Big Ten matchup on Jan. 10.

Blackwell had 11 games last season where he took 15 or more shots, with a high of 22 in Wisconsin’s loss to TCU. He shot 43% from the field overall and 38.9% on 3’s, and can use his strength -- he’s listed at 6-5, 205 pounds -- to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket when the jumpers aren’t falling.

Blackwell attended the NBA draft combine, where there was social-media noise about his wingspan being one inch shorter than his listed height and how that might affect his draft selection. Forget that former Duke star JJ Redick had the same “problem” and played 15 years in the NBA. Some were fixated on it.

In the end, Blackwell, who has an NIL valuation of $4 million by On3, decided one more year of college ball was the best option. He was a preseason All-ACC first-team pick and was second to Virginia’s Thijs De Ridder in preseason voting for ACC player of the year.

Blackwell flashed a knowing smile when asked about the need of embracing whatever role you’re assigned on a team.

“Man, you’re right, and I have had many roles throughout my career,” he said. “As a freshman, I was a true role player, just trying to help the team win. My sophomore year, more of a point-producing guard and a second option. Then, a go-to guy.”

And at Duke?

“Here, it’s just being a leader,” he said. “We have so may guys and anybody can go off on any particular night. So me just being a leader, being a vet, encouraging guys.

“I’ve been through games like this one tonight, top-10 games. Just going out and helping the guys and encouraging them.”

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