Tag Archives: Gary Trent Jr.

Duke Basketball

Four Blue Devils Tabbed in NBA Draft

 

Marvin Bagley headlines four new Duke players headed to the NBA.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Duke men's basketball matched a program record with four selections during the 2018 NBA Draft Thursday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, including two of the top seven picks and three first-round selections.

 Freshman Marvin Bagley III went second overall to the Sacramento Kings, while classmate Wendell Carter, Jr. went seventh to the Chicago Bulls. Senior Grayson Allen joined Bagley and Carter in the first round as the 21st pick by the Utah Jazz, running the Blue Devils’ total to 44 all-time first-round picks – the third-best total in history.

 Bagley and Carter coming off the board in the lottery now gives head coach Mike Krzyzewski 25 lottery selections – extending the record for most lottery picks for a school and coach. Duke has boasted a top-3 pick in each of the last five NBA Drafts, surpassing the record of four straight by UCLA between 1974 and 1977.

 Rounding out the four Blue Devils in the Draft was freshmen Gary Trent, Jr., who was drafted by Sacramento in the second round with the 37th overall pick and traded to the Portland Trailblazers. Duke previously had four draft picks in 1986, 1999 and 2017.

 The Blue Devils have had at least one player selected in 31 of 38 drafts under Krzyzewski. Coach K has tutored a total of 61 draft picks since taking over the Duke program in 1980, including a Draft-record 38 first-round selections.

 The Blue Devils have produced 18 first-round picks in the last 10 seasons, including at least one in each of the last eight years. Thirteen of Duke’s last 15 picks, and 20 of the last 25, have come in the first round, including 13 lottery picks.

 Coach K on Bagley:

“Marvin was as good as anyone in college basketball last season. A high double-double guy, and no one runs – as a big guy – any better. He’s shown he can put the ball on the floor, and he can shoot. He’s just going to get better. He’s a position-less big guy, which in today’s NBA is important.”

 Coach K on Carter

“With Wendell, you have that double-double guy, who faced the basket for the first time once he got here to Duke. He can really shoot, and I liken him a lot to Al Horford – he’s taller, but he has a huge upside. He’s an incredible passer for any position, but especially for a big guy. He’s an easy kid to coach and fun to be around every day.”

 Coach K on Grayson Allen:

“In Grayson, you have a 22-year-old mature player. His body of work is there. No player that I can think of has been scrutinized more than him, and has come through it on a huge upside. An almost 2,000-point scorer, an All-American, an Academic All-American, but he has shown he can score the ball. He’s one of the best shooters in the draft, but he can also be a combo – he’s an off-the-charts athlete. He fits in really well in today’s NBA.”

 Coach K on Trent

“Gary is physically ready to play in the league, and he has a huge upside. He is a tremendous shooter. He can really compliment really good players, and he can be an asset to a team right away with his ability to score.”
Duke in the Draft
• Duke has produced a total of 94 NBA Draft picks since 1952.
• Duke has had 61 draft picks under head coach Mike Krzyzewski (since 1981), fourth-most nationally over that time.
• The Blue Devils have had at least one player selected in 19 of the last 21 NBA Drafts, including 30 first-round picks.
• Duke has had at least one player taken in 31 of the 38 NBA Drafts in the Krzyzewski Era.
• Duke players have been selected by 29 of the 30 NBA teams all-time.
• The team to have drafted the most Blue Devils is Detroit (nine), followed by seven for Chicago, and six each for Golden State and Boston. Toronto remains the only team yet to draft a Duke player.

Duke in the First Round
• Duke’s 45 first-round selections are third most all-time, including 38 under Coach K.
• Coach K's 38 first-round picks are the most by a college coach in the history of the NBA Draft.

• Duke has produced a top-3 pick in five consecutive NBA Drafts to set a draft record. The previous record was held by UCLA (1974-77).
• Duke’s 25 NBA lottery picks – all coached by Coach K – are the most by both a college program and college coach.
• An NCAA-leading 20 lottery selections have come from Duke since 1999.
• In the Lottery Era (since 1985), Duke has produced 12 top-three picks; the next-closest total nationally is four (each by Georgetown, LSU, Ohio State, Kansas and Kentucky).
• Duke's 14 top-10 picks since 2000 are the most in the nation in that timeframe, leading Kentucky (12), Connecticut (8), Arizona (8) and Kansas (7).
• Duke has produced at least one first-round pick in each of the last eight years.

Duke Basketball

Duke Players Sign with Agents Before NBA Draft

There is plenty of reason for Duke Basketball fans to tune into the NBA Draft which will be held at Barclays Center in New York tomorrow evening.

The draft will start at 7:00 with the Phoenix Suns on the board and it will not take long before we hear a Blue Devils name called.

In fact, five Duke Blue Devils are expected to go in the NBA Draft where the team is losing their entire starting lineup.

You may have seen in the news recently where Marvin Bagley III signed a deal with Puma.  To do so, players have to have agents in place and in the case of Bagley, he has secured the services of Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management. Bagley is expected to be a big part of a Puma campaign to promote its brand.  They recently signed his former high school teammate DeAndre Ayton while naming Jay-Z as president of Puma Basketball.

A player who is destined to go in the lottery with Bagley is Wendell Carter Jr.  Carter has signed with Mike Seigal of Impact Sports Management.

Four year Duke standout Grayson Allen has signed with  Mitch Nathan of CAA Sports.  He is in good hands in that he represents NBA standouts, Karl Anthony-Towns and Victor Oladipo.

Gary Trent Jr. has signed with Daniell Cantor of FAME.  She is one of the most accomplished female agents who has worked closely with David Falk.  She most recently represented Malcolm Brogdon who played at Virginia and won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

Trevon Duval has inked with Raymond Brothers of IAM Sports. Among his clients are Markelle Fultz who was last season's top overall pick.

Duke currently has 20 players in the NBA and if all of last seasons roster players return, the program will have a record 25 guys in the league.  Here is a link of the current players on that list.

Duke Basketball

Defense Keys Duke Romp Over Hokies

Grayson Allen was the Player of the Game for Duke. Defense keys Duke win over Hokies.

The Duke Blue Devils played their best forty minutes of basketball this season.  The result was an impressive 74-52 ACC win over Virginia Tech.  The win sets up a situation where the (9-4 ACC, 21-5 overall) Blue Devils can move into second place with a win at Clemson this weekend.

Duke played zone the entire contest and more importantly they talked to one another on the defensive end.  "We stress talk.  The system we try to teach is offense, defense and communication.  But defensively, especially in zone, when you are talking you will be wider," said Krzyzewski.

The Duke coach also acknowledged it was his teams best defensive game of the season.  The Blue Devils helped themselves after a half time adjustment where the Hokies had nine turnovers after just one at the break.

Grayson Allen led Duke with 25 points and was the kind of leader the staff envisioned for Duke tonight.  "He's our leader.  We've had him off the ball a lot, so he has tried to lead from there but the ball is not in his hands.  With the ball in his hands he can make plays and call plays and is in more command, said Krzyzewski.

You can expect the strategy of Allen having the ball in his hands more to continue for Krzyzewski acknowledged it has helped the team in their last two outings.

All of the Duke players Blue Devil Nation spoke with after the game said this was their best 40 minute effort of the season.  And all of them had things to say about their communication in a zone defense that held a potent Hokies team to just 52 points.

Gary Trent Jr. added 19 points for Duke.  He was joined by Revon Duval (10 points) and Wendell Carter Jr. (13 points and 13 rebounds) as double figure scorers.

Duke started Marques Bolden (2 blocked shots) in the first half but opted for Javin DeLaurier in the second half.  DeLarurier played with energy and went 3 for 3 from the field and was on the end of some outstanding passes.  Those scores helped Duke gain continued energy in their victory.

The Blue Devils also scored 18 second chance points and tallied seven steals in the game to just one for the Hokies.  Duke held a monster advantage on the boards with a 36-19 advantage despite their leading scorer and rebounder in Marvin Bagley III being sidelined with an injury.

Duke can take over sole possession of 2nd place in the ACC with a win at Clemson this Sunday.  That game tips off at 1:00 and will be televised by the ACC Network.

Duke Basketball

First things, first for Duke Basketball

Lance King Photo

The Duke Blue Devils travel to Wake Forest this evening in a game that will tip-off at 9:00 and be televised on the ACC Network.  The Demon Deacons are struggling, but as anyone knows strange things can happen when you are on the road in the modern-day Atlantic Coast Conference.

It has been quite a week for the Duke program.  The team is playing better defensively and the roles of the starters are being defined in a better way.  And there is no avoiding the verbal commitment from Zion Williamson which gives Duke the top class next year.

In a sense, it is hard not to get involved in the excitement and be caught looking ahead.  Virginia will visit Cameron Indoor Stadium this weekend in the best match up of the week.  And there will be a lot of hype for the #2 and #4 teams in the nation squaring off.

But first things, first for the Duke Basketball program.  The team finds itself poised to make a move up the ACC standing ladder but only if it takes care of business.  And that business starts with a difficult starting time against a Wake Forest team which will play loose with nothing to lose.

On paper, Duke should win the game.  Gary Trent Jr. was recently named ACC Player of the Week.  He is turning the corner as a player.  the same can be said for Wendell Carter Jr. who seems more comfortable in his role.  And then there is Marvin Bagley III who is quite simply the leagues best player.

Add to that group, Trevon Duval who leads the conference in assists and the leadership of Grayson Allen and you see why Duke is a 9 point favorite.  But these guys are young and one of the next things they must prove is their ability to handle their business when they need too.

Duke has been fortunate enough to have two games with cellar dweller Pitt of late.  Those games provided the team a chance to work on many things, including their man to man defense.  But the Deacons, even with just 8 wins on the season is a much more talented team.

Wake Forest will come to play.  That Harlely Davidson will rev up before the contest and this is their biggest game of the year at home.  Duke will certainly have some fans in the stands, but this is the game for the Deacon faithful and they always play Duke tough in Winston Salem.

You can expect Duke to play its bench in this game as well.  But the two points they got from the backups in the last outing won't cut it moving forward.  So, the next step is developing some sort of consistency from this cast of players.

So, what we are watching for tonight is whether a young team which is favored on the road at the end of January can focus on the job at hand.  And that will be a task having mentioned possible distractions.  And while we are speaking to distractions, Duke must turn around and play Notre Dame the Monday after the showdown with Virginia.

Duke has a golden opportunity to get back into the regular season race by a week from today.  The three conference games coming up will show us a lot about this teams meddle.  So, in that sense, an interesting seven-day stretch starts tonight.

The Blue Devils are also starting to position themselves for a possible bye in the fast approaching NCAA Tournament.  But before we look too far ahead, first things, first for this team.  Make no mistake if the Blue Devils want to win the regular season crown, business is at hand.

Duke Basketball

10 Random Thoughts on Duke’s Comeback Win

Photo Miami Herald.

They did it again!  Just when you thought the team was about to lose their third game of the season, Duke came alive.  The Blue Devils uses an 18-0 run to shock Miami and snatch a key ACC road win.  Without further ado, here is volume V of 10 Random Thoughts on Duke Basketball.

30 Point Efforts

No other team in the ACC has more than two players with 30 plus scoring games this season.  Duke, on the other hand, has now had players go for 30 points or over in seven games.  Last night it was Gary Tent Jr.s turn.  After being sick the game before against Wake Forest and still playing well, Trent followed up that game with 30 points which included some big time three pointers.  His effort helped Duke remain undefeated against teams in the current A.P. Top 25.

Comeback Artists

Trailing 66-53, Duke went on an 18-0 run and outscored Miami 27-4 over that  stretch which sealed their fourth conference win.  Gary Trent went 6 of 9 from three-point range, knocking down two consecutive trays to start the comeback.  Trevon Duval also stepped up his game after struggling with turnovers early in the game and ended up having 8 assists.  Duke has had a way of turning up their offense for spurts all season long.  Quite simply, they are capable of staging major comebacks in just a few minutes or when the game looks to be in doubt.

Not to take anything away, but ...

The Blue Devils still need to find some consistency in many areas of the game.  Firstly, they need to protect leads they build in the first half or leads in general.  Duke also needs some work on their free throw game.   They got away with going 10 of 21 from the charity stripe last evening and left a lot of points with misses of late.  Then there is the need for a consistent effort and better shot selection not to mention a better understanding of man to man defense.  Duke is young and learning.  Once they take better shot and gain a killer instinct with the lead, they will be hard to beat.  Just a little bit of improvement in the aforementioned areas could pay huge dividends.

A different role from Bagley

Well of course Marvin Bagley III got his 15 double-double on the season.  And he tallied 13 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists by deferring to other Duke players at times.  Last evening three other Duke players had more shots than Bagley.  The talented freshman took another step in his development by allowing this to happen which translated to a win.  And if Duke wins, Bagley will still remain the center of attention for many.

Wendell Carter went beast mode

When teammate Marvin Bagley went to the locker room with a shoulder injury, Carter played outstanding basketball.  He was a machine on the boards where many of his game high 14 rebounds came early or in key times in the game.  Carter is a double-double guy as well and he has pout together back to back games with the not so easy feat.  Duke would be well served to make sure he continues to get touches moving forward for he is better when that happens as is the team.  What people might miss is there is a timed development with players from the staff.  They told Carter he would float outside for some shots to better that part of his game when recruiting him.  They are keeping their promise.  BTW, Carter has an insane stat line - 15 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocked shots, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Allen continues to struggle with his shot

Sometimes players get in a shooting funk.  That has been the case with all of the Duke backcourt players at times this season.  It is scary to think how good Duke can be if all three are hitting on the same night.  What Allen is doing is finding his way into the stat line and remaining the senior leader a team needs.  Last evening he led Duke is steals with 5 and his effort towards the end of the half to get one and assist Trent for a 3 halted Miami's momentum.

That zone

I know there is a part of Mike Krzyzewski that hates going to a zone.  But in the one and done era with limited teaching time with players, not to mention a top-heavy team with concern to minutes: it is necessary.  And when Duke does go to that zone it seems to have a great effect to date.  When they went to it last evening, the Hurricanes offense immediately struggled with the length and movement.

Bad Duval, good Duval

Trevon Duval got into some early foul trouble and had to sit.  He needs to learn to harness his aggression in that Duke needs him on the court.  He is the best option at his position hands down.  I thought he was on his way to 8 turnovers like he had against NC State, but he flipped the switch and halted that.  Instead of 8 turnovers he ended the game with 8 assists.  And he was very efficient from the field going 7 of 11 and 2 of 2 from 3.   There is no position like the point guard spot which makes mistakes stand out.  Duval was good down the stretch and was a part of Duke not committing turnovers after a season high 19 during their 30-9 run to close out the game.

This and that

Duke has now had players garner 25 double-doubles on the season.  Bagley is 2nd in the nation in double-doubles and 1st among freshmen players.  Trent tied a Duke freshman record with six made three pointers.  Coach K is now 1014-273 at Duke and has 1087 total wins.

Next up

Pitt will visit Cameron Indoor Stadium on Coach K Court this coming Saturday.  That game will tip-off at 4:00 on  ACC Network Extra.  Duke should get both rest and good practice time this week.  They should also be able to let injured players continue to mend against Pitt which s struggling while rebuilding their program.

Always check back for new 10 Random Thoughts on Duke Basketball.  And take advantage of our special on Blue Devil Nation Premium where we double your membership through the month of January.  Get two years for the price of one or one year for the price of six months.

Duke Basketball

K-Less Duke Rattles Wake Forest 89-71

After an unseasonably warm couple of days, the weather turned cooler on the day of the Duke-Wake Forest game.  Walking up to Cameron Indoor Stadium one could see tent city in full bloom.  The students were back in force to cheer on their beloved Blue Devils who sought to get back in the thick of the ACC race with a win.

But things were far from normal on this day.  About an hour before tip-off, Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski decided not to coach in the game.  He had just come down with a stomach virus and he did not want to make his players sick, especially with a trip to Miami on the horizon where Duke has to take on the Hurricanes in just over a day away.

Add Gary Trent Jr. to the list of sick players as well.  Trent hovered over a trash can on the bench but would play in the game.  Duke was also without the services of Javin DeLaurier and Marques Bolden, but the team did not give in to the pressure.  Instead, they rose to the occasion and came away with an 89-71 win over Wake Forest.

Duke Associate Assistant Coach Jeff Capel took the reigns in Krzyzewski's absence.  And Capel looked more than a little comfortable taking over the role with short notice.  After all, this is not his first rodeo.

Capel substituted enough to keep the players fresh in the game.  The involvement seems to have helped Duke in wins over Pitt and Wake Forest which has pushed the team's record to 3-2 in the ACC and 15-2 overall.

Of course, it is nice when Capel has Marvin Bagley III (30 points, 11 rebounds) on the floor.  Bagley threw down some emphatic dunks on his way to his 14th double-double of the season which ties the Duke record for a freshman.

Bagley also has 4 steals.  And, of course, some of those led to crushing dunks.  Some of the students were donning his face on their shirts which his Dad had made.

Wendell Carter Jr. (15 points, 11 rebounds) chipped in with a double-double as well.  The duo were also beasts on the glass and altered many Wake Forest shots over the course of the game.

Grayson Allen continues to struggle with his shot.  But he earned the praise of Coach Capel in that while only scoring 2 points he led the team in rebounding with 12 and assists, dishing 8 dimes.

Despite being really sick, Trent Jr. nailed three consecutive three-point shots and played another good overall floor game.  Capel praised his toughness where he tallied 19 points.

Duke played a zone for much of the game and they were active in it when doing so.  The Blue Devils held a good Wake offense down when Capel went back to it in the 2nd half, after they cut into the Duke lead and closed to within 13.

Due to the closeness of the two games, the staff will not be able to go on the road and watch some key prospects in the Hall of Fame Classic.  It is unknown when Krzyzewski and player Bolden and DeLaurier will return.