The top five freshman seasons in Duke basketball history

Best seasons by a Duke basketball freshman: No. 4 Jabari Parker

Jabari Parker spent his freshman season as one of the most versatile and prolific players Duke has ever seen. As a 6-foot-8 power forward, he was of course able to shoot over defenders and dunk the ball like no one’s business, but something that made him special was that he also played like a guard.

Parker was also very quick and agile, qualities you mostly see in guards much smaller than him. His ability to handle the ball and scramble up whatever defender had the displeasure of guarding him set him apart from most in the college basketball world.

In his debut game at Duke, Parker put up 22 points to become only the fifth player under Mike Krzyzewski to score over 20 points in a debut game. From there, in 35 starts his freshman season, Parker put up 19.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

Parker’s performance over the course of his freshman year earned him many accolades as he transitioned to the league. He earned Duke’s all-time freshman scoring and rebounding averages, records that have since been broken, and 10 ACC Rookie of the Week honors in total.

He was also named National Freshman of the Year. Parker later declared for the 2014 NBA Draft and became the second overall pick.