Tag: Tyrese Proctor

The man in the mirror is the final hurdle Duke must clear as they prepare for rematch with UNC

The Duke Blue Devils have to win against themselves in order to win against UNC.

Sir Edmund Hillary said it best: “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”

It feels like the perfect quote to summarise the Duke basketball experience this year and focus on what’s ahead of the team as they prepare to try and get revenge for an early February loss to their rivals, UNC. The Blue Devils have been fighting the team in the mirror all season. It’s time they conquer that.

If they can, the Blue Devils will head to Washington, D.C., for the ACC Tournament, with their share of the 2023-2024 ACC regular season title; if the Tar Heels win, they are the outright title winners. Losing that also likely eliminates Duke from having any shot at a 2-seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

For Duke, it’s simple: UNC is the best opponent (not named Arizona or Baylor) on their schedule. They beat Baylor in Madison Square Garden, which stands out as a great Quad 1 win, but the Blue Devils know they need more. Hubert Davis’ team is undoubtedly in the Final Four-capable tier of teams, so a win against North Carolina would be the perfect confirmation that this Duke team has grown and evolved and is playing its best basketball.

It’s easier said than done, as UNC will have everything to play for on top of the sheer fact that this is a rivalry, and it could be Armando Bacot and RJ Davis’ last game against Duke ever. They’ve ruined big nights in Cameron Indoor Stadium before.

Duke played a rough basketball game against UNC in the first round in Chapel Hill. They were not strong on the court, and their defensive plan wasn’t strong. Ultimately, the Heels just played better.

Duke shot 26.3% from three, compared to almost 38% from UNC. Harrison Ingram was the thorn in Duke’s side from the outside, going 5/9 from deep. Duke also had 11 turnovers, which led to 19 UNC points. Eight of those turnovers were live-ball, which makes it even harder to get back on defense against a transition offense-focused team like UNC.

Kyle Filipowski struggled with foul trouble, and when his team needed him to contain Armando Bacot without a double team, he couldn’t. Tyrese Proctor had one of his worst games, registering just two points and one assist on 1/6 shooting in 26 minutes.

So, what has to change this time around? Duke has to put together a complete performance as they have in games on the road at Miami, NC State, Virginia Tech, or as they did recently at home versus Virginia. This team has shown that it can play a full 40 minutes on both ends of the court, and when they can, they will blow teams away, as eight of their conference wins have been by 15 points or more.

Duke is a deeper team now. The bench has lengthened a much-needed development due to limitations with guys like Jaylen Blakes and Ryan Young. They are decent role players but certainly guys with deficiencies. The answers were the 6-foot-9 five-star freshman Sean Stewart and the 6-foot-8 four-star small forward TJ Power.

Power’s shooting ability is among the best on a team of great shooters this season, but the lack of opportunities hasn’t allowed him to showcase that. Stewart is hyper-athletic and an incredible shot disruptor combined with pure energy and hustle, allowing him to provide the energy on 50/50 plays Duke needs.

Each player has played at least 10 minutes in the last three games. Stewart had a season-high 26 minutes of game action at NC State, where he had his proverbial breakout game, scoring 12 points, five rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and two assists. He was a menace on defense, and four rebounds came on the offensive glass, giving Duke extra possessions.

They must be factors in this rematch, and the rest of the team needs to be more assertive with the ball. If Duke hadn’t been forced into so many live-ball turnovers, they could’ve shaved off at least six points they allowed. Tyrese Proctor must play better, especially considering Caleb Foster will still be out. He’s had some encouraging performances since being inserted back into the starting lineup with Foster out, and Monday night in Raleigh showcased that.

Kyle Filipowski needs to be a factor for the entire 40 minutes. Jon Scheyer must find a better way to defend Bacot while not allowing RJ Davis to explode. Do not respect Elliot Cadeau’s shot. Make him shoot more jumpers than layups, and respect Ingram as a solid spot-up shooter.

It won’t be easy, but Duke can beat UNC. Aside from the implications mentioned above about the ACC title, this win is about Duke playing well enough to beat an elite opponent as it pursues a sixth NCAA title in two weeks.

They missed the mark early against Arizona and in Chapel Hill. In both games, Duke was the loser, but there was a clear sense that Duke didn’t play well enough to beat that caliber of team. Can they conquer themselves and raise their level of play to conquer their goals? We’ll find out on Saturday.

The five biggest takeaways from Duke’s 79-64 win over NC State

Duke weathered some rough opening minutes and an off shooting night to beat the Wolfpack by 15 on Monday. Here are our most important thoughts on the game.

The Wolfpack scored the first nine points of the game on Monday, but Duke battled back to still win by 15 points by the time the clock hit triple zeros.

The win, led by 21 points from senior Jeremy Roach, set up a dramatic showdown in Cameron this coming weekend. The Blue Devils host North Carolina in the regular-season finale on Saturday, and no matter what happens in UNC’s Tuesday game against Notre Dame, Duke can clinch at least a share of the ACC regular-season title with a rivalry win.

Before any members of Duke faithful get too far ahead of themselves, however, there is still a game to analyze. Here are our biggest takeaways from Monday’s 79-64 victory over NC State.

Duke Wire staff predictions for Monday’s game against NC State

Duke plays its last road game of the season against the Wolfpack on Monday. Check out our staff’s thoughts on how the game will go.

With the calendar officially turned to college basketball’s most important month, each and every game carries weight from here on out for Duke.

Even Monday’s road battle with NC State, despite it being a regular-season game against a team not projected to make the NCAA Tournament, can drastically alter the Blue Devils’ expectations.

A win keeps them within a game of the ACC lead at worst, giving them a chance for at least a share of the regular-season crown in the finale, and pushes them closer to a No. 2 seed in the March Madness. After a valiant 7-1 run to stay alive in the conference, however, a loss to the in-state rivals could take all of the air out of Duke’s balloon at a crucial time.

Here is what our staff thinks you can expect from the road battle.

Five takeaways from Duke’s blowout 73-48 win over Virginia

Five takeaways from Duke’s dismantling of the Virginia Cavaliers.

Saturday was a fun time in Cameron. Everything went right for the Duke Blue Devils as they dismantled Tony Bennett’s UVA team 73-48 as the Blue Devils kicked off March.

From the opening tip, it was apparent that Duke was more focused, prepared, and simply the better team. Kyle Filipowski was dominant, Tyrese Proctor was as well, and the Blue Devils put together one of their most complete performances of the season.

It was a magnificent showing and shows that if Duke has officially turned the corner and is playing their best basketball like this as the next few weeks go on, they’ll give themselves the chance to extend their season into April.

It’s time to share our five takeaways from the easy win.

The best images from Duke’s blowout win over Virginia

Kyle Filipowski nearly outscored Virginia in the first half on Saturday. Here are the best images from the dominant Duke performance.

Wins are rarely easier or more emphatic than the one Duke strung together against Virginia on Saturday night.

Virginia came into Cameron Indoor Stadium with the nation’s third-ranked scoring defense and the 10th-best adjusted defensive efficiency in the nation. Duke promptly scored 40 points on the Cavaliers before halftime, 15 of which came from sophomore 7-footer Kyle Filipowski.

The Blue Devils opened the game on a 14-4 streak, strung together another 8-0 run midway through the first half, and led at one point by a score of 33-11.

Here are the best images from a rollicking Cameron crowd and Duke’s statement win.

Duke takes down Virginia in blowout fashion

The Duke Blue Devils defeated the Virginia Cavaliers in blowout fashion. Read the recap now.

No. 10 Duke needed to take down the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday to remain in contention for an ACC regular season title.

The Blue Devils (23-6, 14-4 ACC) jumped out to a massive lead early and never let up as they captured a commanding 73-48 victory over the Cavaliers (21-9, 12-7 ACC).

Duke jumped out to a 14-4 lead within the first five minutes after scoring on its first four possessions, a run capped off by a Tyrese Proctor triple.

Sophomore 7-footer Kyle Filipowski continued to stretch the Blue Devil’s lead with a three of his own, a turnaround jumper, and then a dunk to give him 13 points early as Duke led 27-11.

The Blue Devils penetrated inside over and over again as they rattled off yet another run, this one an 8-0 streak midway through the first half to build a 33-11 advantage.

The Blue Devils’ ball movement helped break Virginia’s vaunted zone defense, which averaged less than 60 points allowed per game before Saturday. Duke created several open buckets in the first half and went on to finish the game with 44 points in the paint while the Cavaliers mustered just 18.

Duke went into the break with a commanding 40-18 lead over Virginia. Filipowski led the way with 15 first-half points. He went on to finish the game with 21 points on 9/14 shooting.

The Blue Devils shot an efficient 58.6% from the floor, while Virginia shot just 23.1% as a team. Duke also found much more success crashing the boards in the first half, outrebounding Virginia 21 to 11 over the first 20 minutes. The Blue Devils ended the game with 42 rebounds as a team, 13 more than the Cavaliers.

Virginia started the second much more competitive, keeping pace with Duke offensively in the second half, but UVA could never chip that far into the advantage. The lead still swelled to more than 25 points midway through the second half.

Tyrese Proctor stepped up throughout the game in the absence of Caleb Foster. He scored 15 points in the win, his most since January 27 against Clemson, on 6/8 shooting with three triples, his second game shooting 50% or better from beyond the arc since the start of February.

Three Blue Devils scored double-digit points, with sophomore Mark Mitchell adding 10 points, as Duke shot 49.2% from the floor as a team.

Despite Virginia’s best efforts in the second half, they trailed by more than 20 points for most of the second half as Duke went on to take the win.

The Blue Devils will travel on the road next to take on the NC State Wolfpack in their final road game of the 2023-24 season, their last game before the season finale against North Carolina.

Which five Blue Devils need to step up the most in Caleb Foster’s absence?

All signs point to the Blue Devils being without freshman guard Caleb Foster, one of six players averaging more than 15 minutes per game, for the postseason. Who needs to fill the void in his absence?

There hasn’t been an official timeline from the team, but all signs seem to indicate freshman guard Caleb Foster will miss most of the postseason, if not the entire thing.

The 6-foot-5 North Carolina native was seen in a walking boot on the bench during Wednesday’s win over Louisville, and head coach Jon Scheyer said the team will be without him “for some time” after the game.

With less than six weeks between then and the national championship, the lack of timetable seems to give Foster low odds for another appearance in 2023-24.

Foster will be dearly missed. He is one of only six Duke players averaging more than 12 minutes per game this season, and he added 7.7 points and 40.6% 3-point shooting to the Blue Devils high-flying offense.

Here are five Duke players who need to step up and help fill the void during Foster’s absence, however long it may be.

Duke loses highly competitive 83-79 game on the road to Wake Forest

Duke loses a closely contested game against Wake Forest 83-79.

No. 8 Duke has been playing its best basketball of the season of late, and coming into their Saturday tilt with Wake Forest, they had won five straight basketball games.

Saturday saw them unable to push that win streak to six, as the Blue Devils fell 83-79 in Winston-Salem after a hotly contested game.

These two ACC foes met in Durham less than a month ago, with Duke winning 77-69. Wake came out on top in their rematch after shooting 60% from the field for the entire game.

The first half was a largely back-in-forth affair, with the Blue Devils pushing out to an early 15-9 lead behind 3-pointers from Tyrese Proctor, Caleb Foster, and Jared McCain. Wake responded, closing the gap as the teams hit the under-eight media timeout with Duke holding a 25-22 lead.

For the remainder of the first half, the game remained at most a three- to four-point affair. Duke ended the half with a 38-36 lead after a cheap foul on Jaylen Blakes gave Cameron Hildreth two free throws with less than a second left.

Proctor and Foster chipped in eight points each over the opening 20 minutes, while Kyle Filipowski led the way for Duke with 10 points and five rebounds. Gonzaga transfer Hunter Sallis was locked in during the first half en route to 14 points and five boards for Wake Forest.

The second half is when things turned up a notch.

Duke and Wake exchanged run after run and upped their percentage from three above 50% after shooting just 4/12 from distance in the first half.

Duke struggled to stop Wake in the second half, but thanks to tough shotmaking of their own, they remained in the game to the end.

Three turnovers in the final two minutes ultimately undid Duke’s chances of coming out on top despite weathering an incredible display of shooting from Hunter Sallis, who finished with 29 points on 5/6 shooting from deep.

Jeremy Roach added 16 points of his own, while Filipowski led the Blue Devils in scoring with 17 points.

As the game concluded, Kyle Filipowski was hobbled and helped off the court as Wake students and fans stormed the court and appeared to be somewhat responsible for injuring him in what is sure to be a hot topic over the next few days.

Filipowski said the problem was with his knee after the game.

For Duke, they’ll lace their sneakers back up and retake the court at home on Wednesday night against Lousiville. Wake Forest will travel to South Bend to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Bleacher Report’s latest NBA mock draft has three Duke players getting drafted

Three Duke Blue Devils are projected to get drafted in Jonathan Wasserman’s latest 2024 NBA Mock Draft.

Three Duke players were projected to get drafted in Jonathan Wasserman’s latest 2024 NBA Mock Draft for Bleacher Report.

Forward Kyle Filipowski was the sole Blue Devils to be projected to be a lottery selection in the upcoming draft. Wasserman had him going ninth overall to the Atlanta Hawks.

The sophomore forward averages 16.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game so far this season. He’s also improved from long-range, shooting at a 35.6% clip on 3-point attempts.

Freshman phenom Jared McCain, the reigning ACC Rookie of the Week, was just outside the lottery, going to the New York Knicks with the 19th pick. The first-year guard has established himself as one of Duke’s best scorers, averaging 13.5 points per game and exploding for 35 points against Florida State last week.

McCain is shooting 45.8% from the floor and 40.1% from deep in his freshman season to this point. He’s also been one of the Blue Devils’ best rebounders, averaging 4.9 boards per game and finishing with three double-doubles despite his 6-foot-3 frame.

The last Duke player projected to be drafted was sophomore guard Tyrese Proctor, who was slated to go to the Indiana Pacers with the 53rd pick.

Proctor’s numbers are still solid, as he’s averaged 10.1 points and a team-leading 3.6 assists per game so far in 2023-24. The second-year Blue Devil has struggled with consistency at times this season, however, and he missed all five attempts against Wake Forest and went 1/6 against UNC.

The sophomore guard came off the bench in Duke’s last game with Miami after a recent stint in concussion protocol, with freshman guard Caleb Foster splitting his minutes more evenly in recent games.

New mock draft from The Athletic has Kyle Filipowski and Jared McCain as first-rounders

Duke’s Kyle Filipowski and Jared McCain are first rounders in Athletic mock draft.

The NCAA season has hit its stride and is streaking towards March, which means conference tournaments followed by the Big Dance.

At this point, every college basketball team has played well over 20 games, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that teams have begun to separate themselves from the pack as we gear up for what figures to be another hotly contested NCAA Tournament.

As the NCAA Tournament nears, it also signals that college basketball is ending, and with that, we will be even closer to the 2024 NBA Draft. While many pundits have declared this a less star-filled draft class for months, there is still a plethora of prospects that could develop into meaningful NBA contributors down the road.

Duke has done its part for the last decade in producing NBA talent, which figures not to stop this year. The Athletic released a new mock draft (subscription required) on Tuesday, and the Blue Devils have two projected first-rounders as things stand right now.

The obvious choice is their talented big man, Kyle Filipowski. Filipowski is having a solid year, and writer Sam Vecenie has Filipowski projected to go ninth to the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite the Thunder being the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, the abundance of draft capital they have accumulated over the years will remain valuable. They are ahead of schedule in their rebuild and can still land lottery-caliber talent despite playing some of the best basketball in the NBA this year.

Adding Filipowski would give the Thunder a multi-faceted big man to play behind Chet Holmgren and allow them to stretch defenses due to Filipowki’s ability to shoot 35% from a distance.

Elsewhere in the first round, long-range assassin Jared McCain was mocked to the Atlanta Hawks at 19th overall. McCain is shooting 41% from deep and has showcased a well-rounded offensive game, scoring at all three levels. Despite his smallish size and the fact that he may never be a true point guard, McCain’s offensive upside as a shooter has him being compared to former Blue Devil Seth Curry. He is also a terrific rebounder for his size and position and plays tough.

If McCain continues shooting at or above 40 percent, he will be drafted in the first round in June.

Notably, Mark Mitchell and Tyrese Proctor are nowhere to be found in this mock draft. Both returned to school to improve their draft stock and while Mark Mitchell has improved this season, his lack of a 3-point shot has impacted his pro prospects. He’s a tweener forward with a good inside game but cannot stretch defenses the way the NBA prefers.

Is it possible for Mitchell to come back for a junior season? With NIL, money is less of a worry for prospects not guaranteed to go to the second round. The same can be applied to Tyrese Proctor. Two unfortunate injuries have cut into many games for Proctor. He has yet to leap like many thought he would in year two, but his value to Duke is notable. They are a better defensive team, and his assist-to-turnover ratio is one of the best in the ACC.

Would Proctor consider coming back to Duke? Or transfer out for opportunities elsewhere following the season? If Proctor were to come back and run the backcourt with Caleb Foster and be the ultimate facilitator as Duke welcomes the nation’s number one player in Cooper Flagg and a plethora of talented freshmen shooters in Isaiah Evans, Kon Knueppel, and Darren Harris, it would be a boost to his pro prospects as a lead guard.

These decisions are looming for the Duke basketball program, and we still have tournament season before we see how it all works out.