Duke MBB Player Profile: Wendell Carter Jr.
For my fourth installment of Duke player profiles I will be focusing on the man we all seem to have forgotten about, Wendell Carter Jr.
There was a time where Wendell Carter jr. was Duke’s top prospect and he was the man that was going to lead Duke through the ACC alongside Grayson Allen. Well ever since Marvin Bagley III decided to reclassify and commit to Duke we seem to have forgotten about him.
Name: Wendell Carter Jr.
Year: Freshman
Position: Power Forward
Age: 18
Height: 6’10”
Weight: 263
High School: Pace Academy, Georgia
Wendell Carter Jr. was the number five overall recruit in ESPN’s top 100 for 2017, but no one seems to know about him. Everyone seems to be focused on Trevon Duval and Marvin Bagley III, yet Wendell Carter Jr. is right there with him and he has the chance to be one of the best players in college basketball this season.
6 games, 21.5 PPG, 2.7 APG, 15.7 RPG, 71 FG%, 40 3P%, 72 FT%, 9 STL, 13 BLK
The most recent stats available for Carter were his sophomore stats in 2014-15. In those six games he played Carter simply went in, averaging nearly 22 points per game and 16 rebounds per game is insane. Since then Carter has only grown and got bigger so you can only imagine what he is going to do this season at Duke.
2017-18 Predictions:
14.3 PPG, 3.1 APG, 9.8 RPG, 68 FG%, 74 FT%, 23 STL, 32 BLK
In 2017-18 expect Carter to be a presence in the front court. In only six games he racked up nine steals and thirteen blocks so picture what he is going to do in about forty games this season. I have his points and rebounds going down significantly due to the fact that he will be sharing the court with the best team in the nation and his assists going up for that reason.
We are not quite sure what role Carter Jr will play this upcoming season but in the exhibition game against Northwest Missouri State he was the starting Power Forward with Gary Trent Jr at Small Forward and Marvin Bagley III at center. No matter what role Carter plays you can expect him to help guide this young Duke team through the ACC and the NCAA.
Related Story: Duke Basketball Player Previews: Marvin Bagley III
In 2017-18 you can expect Wendell Carter Jr. to be a big source of points and rebounds for Duke. He was named to the preseason Karl Malone Award for Best Power Forward watch list. This shows you the kind of potential that Wendell Carter Jr. has, and if that doesn’t the fact that he won the 2017 Morgan Wootten Award should. The Morgan Wootten award recognizes the best male and female athletes who demonstrate outstanding character, exhibit leadership and embodies the values of being a student-athlete in school and in the community.
This kid has some serious potential and he is someone you’re going to want to watch in 2017-18.