Duke basketball guard to play overseas prior to beginning of season

Duke basketball senior Joey Baker will be playing internationally before the season begins. 

Entering the 2021-22 season, the Duke basketball team does have many upperclassmen, but none with much experience, and one senior is looking to change that.

Prior to his final season in Durham, Joey Baker will be taking his talents to Spain to compete with USA East Coast.

Baker is on the ‘Red’ team and will be coached by new Memphis assistant coach and NBA Hall of Famer Larry Brown.

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Joining the Blue Devil senior in Spain will be Syracuse’s Jimmy and Buddy Boeheim, Western Connecticut State’s Matthew Turner, Kansas’ Dajuan Harris Jr., Rutgers’ Paul Mulchay, Assumption’s Matthew Kelly, Providence’s Alyn Breed, Colorado’s Evan Battey, and Iowa’s Patrick McCaffrey.

According to Adam Zagoria, three teams will be going to Spain to compete in the games this year, and there will be a minicamp held on July 31 and August 1 at Manhattan College prior to playing three games in Barcelona and Valencia in August.

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim will lead the ‘Blue’ team while the ‘White’ team will be coached by South Carolina head coach Frank Martin and Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery.

Duke basketball senior guard looking for early confidence prior to season

Joey Baker entered Duke as the forgotten man in the recruiting class made up of Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, and Tre Jones but hasn’t lived up to the expectations of being a reliable shooter in Durham.

In his three seasons, the Fayetteville native has shot 36.3-percent from 3-point range and 37.1-percent from the field.

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Baker’s best season as a Blue Devil came as a sophomore, when he averaged 5.0 points per game on 12.1 minutes per contest, before seeing his numbers drop to 11.5 minutes and 2.9 points per game as a junior.

Joey Baker will enter the 2021-22 season as the only player on the Duke roster to play in an NCAA Tournament in a Blue Devil uniform.