Marvin Bagley III garnered the majority of the headlines among freshman standouts at Duke this season and, given the nature of his lengthy stay in Durham, veteran guard Grayson Allen also received quite a bit of attention. However, a third player performed at a high level and, on the heels of an impressive freshman campaign, big man Wendell Carter Jr. announced his decision on Monday to declare for the 2018 NBA Draft.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski indicated in the official release that “it was an honor to coach Wendell” and Carter himself expressed thanks to the program and his teammates in the midst of the announcement.
“I want to thank Duke University, my coaches and teammates for helping me so much, not only on the court, but off it as well. We’re all brothers, we all have each other’s’ backs. I’m really going to miss being around my friends, but I’m really going to cherish the moments we had together. I’m very excited and very happy to say I was part of something special here at Duke.”
Carter’s decision does not come as a huge surprise, especially given the fact that he is widely projected to be drafted in the lottery when the draft arrives in late June. However, the talented big man waited longer than the typical lottery prospect to make his choice and a recent piece from ESPN’s The Undefeated shed light on the fact that his mother, Kylia Carter, expressed reservations about her son making the jump to the NBA.
With that said, Carter’s production at Duke was quite striking in something of a supporting role and he projects as a two-way standout at the next level. He boasts a 7’3 wingspan that helps him to profile as a potentially dominant defender and, on the offensive end, his maturity and overall skill level is more than enough to back up a possible top-10 landing spot.
Between now and the draft itself, it is safe to assume that Bagley III will garner more buzz than Carter, which won’t be anything new. Still, it won’t be a surprise to see Carter as a very good NBA player and one that could make a significant impact on both ends of the floor wherever he happens to land.
