Duke Basketball: Vernon Carey Jr.’s highlights whet Blue Devils’ appetites

Thousands of miles from home at a holiday tournament in Oregon, a future Duke basketball player has single-handedly justified the cost of a ticket.

Duke basketball fans who are worried that mesmerizing highlights will no longer be abundant in Durham at this time next year — due to the inevitable departures to the NBA of three or four current freshmen studs — obviously haven’t seen enough footage of Vernon Carey Jr.

The five-star behemoth, who committed earlier this month to become a Blue Devil, has led his University School out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to the championship game of the Les Schwab Invitational in Oregon.

Carey Jr., ranked No. 2 on the 247Sports Composite for the 2019 class, and his squad will face Sierra Canyon (Calif.) for all the marbles tonight at 8:30 PST.

Across the three wins thus far, the 6-foot-10, 275-pound center has averaged 22.7 points and 9.0 rebounds.

But it’s the manner in which he has stuffed the stat sheet that is so impressive.

Case in point:

Follow-up questions:

1. Did Carey Jr. think he was playing in a world-class volleyball tournament when he left the ground for that rejection?
2. Did that ball wind up in a restroom down a hall?
3. How long until he does that while donning a Duke basketball jersey?

Answers:

1. He must have.
2. Not sure.
3. About 10 months.

And for those Duke fans who need scoring highlights — particularly of the dunking variety — to properly whet their appetites, Carey Jr. has also delivered a slew of those this week:

https://twitter.com/overtime/status/1078772845788966913

Any fans with an unlimited appetite for visions of the Duke basketball program’s future can click here for other recent highlights from Carey Jr.

In addition to Carey Jr., the Duke coaching staff has picked up commitments from five-star small forward Wendell Moore (ranked No. 24) and four-star combo guard Boogie Ellis (ranked No. 36).

The class currently ranks No. 6 in the nation, according to 247Sports.

Decisions are still pending from five-star center Isaiah Stewart (ranked No. 6), who could announce his college choice at any time, and five-star forward Matthew Hurt (ranked No. 7), who will not likely announce until the spring.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball recruiting updates, analysis, opinions, and predictions.