Freudian slip follows Duke basketball sophomore Joey Baker

Joey Baker’s name, appearance, and freshman stats are all eerily similar to one of the Duke basketball program’s all-time busts, but the sophomore now has an opportunity to put an end to the recurring mix-up.

Duke Basketball Report published an article on Thursday with the following headline: “Have Jump Shot, Won’t Travel: Joey Beard Is Ready To Step Up.” After someone on the site’s message board called out the error, someone went back and changed the name in the headline to reflect the intended subject.

But who can blame DBR for the gaffe? I sure can’t; after all, my dad has had to call me out for making the exact same mistake on a few occasions this offseason during our frequent conversations about the Blue Devils.

Joey Baker. Joey Beard. Same first name. The last names both begin with the same letter, contain the same number of letters, and share in common four letters.

Both guys have the same hair color, hairdo, and skin tone. Both came to Duke as highly touted recruits with high expectations. Both were projected redshirts for part of a season.

Beard arrived at Duke for Grant Hill’s senior season (1993-94), fresh off breaking Wish Granted’s career points record at South Lakes High School in Reston, Va. As a freshman, though, the 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward played all of 69 minutes and finished with a total of 21 points and eight rebounds.

"“I’m 18 years old, and I’m one of the top five players in the nation, so I’m coming in expecting to play right away,” Beard later explained to The Arlington Connection’s BJ Koubaroulis. “I want to prove myself and play immediately. That was the assumption that I got. I went in there with that attitude rather than having to earn my spot. That was the best of the best. I thought I could breeze right in and fit right in…“I came back [for my sophomore year] and readjusted my attitude and wanted to work hard.”"

Mononucleosis had other plans. Therefore, so did the Duke basketball coaching staff, deciding a redshirt was the best move. Beard did not agree and transferred following the first semester of his sophomore campaign (he went on to put up mediocre numbers across three seasons at Boston University).

Some fans worry Baker could do the same. After reclassing and arriving in Durham with a No. 33 ranking on the 247Sports 2018 Composite, the 6-foot-7, 210-pound forward played all of 18 minutes as a freshman, scoring three points off four shot attempts (he didn’t take off his planned redshirt until late February).

Of course, Baker — who has a reputation as a gifted slasher and effective outside shooter but has question marks surrounding his strength and defense — won’t have to compete for playing time this season against the likes of R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish. However, he will have to do so against Alex O’Connell, Wendell Moore, and Cassius Stanley.

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That being said, even if Baker follows a similar path as Beard — Ball Durham does not believe he will — at least he won’t have to forever shoulder some of the blame for the Blue Devils losing out on a talent like former UNC star Jerry Stackhouse (1993-95).

"“Carolina and Duke were both on my list, and I was real close with Grant Hill, so I spent a lot of time up at Duke just hanging out,” Stackhouse admitted back in 2012, per Tar Heel Blog’s Brian Barbour. “But while I was there for an unofficial visit, Coach K pulled me into the office and told me I needed to make a decision right then or he was going to sign Joey Beard.“I was ornery enough at that time to say, ‘Well, just recruit Joey Beard.'”"

So can the current Joey in Durham put up similar sophomore averages to Stackhouse’s 19.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.7 blocks? The short answer: NO.

But so long as the 19-year-old doesn’t suddenly catch mono, followed by more talk of a redshirt and transfer, Duke basketball fans shouldn’t have to worry about one day having to apply the “BUST” tag to Beard — oops, I meant Baker.

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