[autotag]Tyrese Proctor[/autotag] is 6-foot-5.
The returning junior’s height sounds pretty unremarkable by basketball standards. He’s tall for a ball-handler, and a wing who can average nearly four assists per game offers flexibility.
That reaction changes when it’s revealed Duke won’t have a shorter player on the roster next season.
The Blue Devils have 11 players on the roster for the 2023-24 season, and they have an average height of 79.4 inches — a hair above 6-foot-7. The tallest team in the nation last year, Florida State, averaged 79.3 inches.
Proctor and Caleb Foster, the two returning guards, both measure in at 6-foot-5, as does five-star freshman Kon Knueppel. Darren Harris and Isaiah Evans, two other members of the 2024 recruiting class, stand 6-foot-6, as do Purdue transfer Mason Gillis and Tulane transfer Sion James.
Every other player on the team will be at least 6-foot-8.
Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 recruit in the nation and the presumed top pick in the 2025 NBA draft, is 6-foot-9, and he might play as a small forward for the Blue Devils.
Based on Duke Wire’s projected starting lineups, the Blue Devils’ first five will either have an average height of 79.8 inches or 80.2 inches. The smallest realistic starting lineup would be 6-foot-5 Foster, 6-foot-5 Proctor, 6-foot-6 James, 6-foot-9 Flagg, and 7-foot-1 Maluach, which is still an average of 79.6 inches.
Average height of current committed scholarship players for next season: 79.4 in.
FSU was #1 nationally in average height last season — 79.3 in. (via KenPom)
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) May 13, 2024
No matter how head coach Jon Scheyer wants to arrange the starting lineup, the Blue Devils will be taller than whoever they play in 2024-25.