Duke basketball: Ranking all 27 Blue Devils in the NBA this season
By Matt Giles
Ranking Duke basketball’s NBA players this season: No. 23 Vernon Carey Jr.
- Age: 20
- Current team: Charlotte Hornets (30-32)
- Games played this season: 15
- Games started: Four
- Season averages: 2.5 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.1 assists, 0.1 steals, 0.3 blocks
- Shooting percentages: 50.0 from the field, 14.3 beyond the arc, 88.9 from the foul line
Charlotte Hornets rookie Vernon Carey Jr., who went No. 32 overall at the 2020 NBA Draft after taking home USBWA Freshman of the Year honors in his lone campaign with the Blue Devils, has only twice played more than 10 minutes in a game this season. In both of those outings, though, the 6-foot-10, 270-pound big man was productive.
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That was especially the case on April 16 in a road battle versus the Brooklyn Nets when Carey drew the first start of his career. In that outing, he poured in 21 points and grabbed six rebounds in 35 minutes of action, showing glimpses of the star he might become on a consistent basis down the road.