3 Duke basketball players who should cash in by sticking around

Duke basketball player who could cash in on a return: Wendell Moore Jr.

Although junior Wendell Moore Jr. was night and day from his sophomore version, some of his frustrating-to-watch tendencies from his younger years reappeared as the season progressed. At the same time, it’s only fair to point out that his play was prolific enough to take home the Julius Erving Award last week as the nation’s best small forward.

The long-armed Swiss Army Knife averaged career-highs with 13.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting an impressive 41.3 percent from deep. Recently speaking, most high-profile college basketball players with Moore’s measurements and stats wouldn’t come back for a senior year.

Again, though, times are changing in the NIL era. And as is the case with Trevor Keels, mock drafts don’t seem to guarantee that Moore would be a first-round draft pick.

Plus, consider how Moore has cemented his fondness in the eyes of most Duke basketball fans, from his game-winner in Chapel Hill as a freshman to his sticking it out through tough times as a sophomore before captaining the program back to the Final Four this year for the first time since 2015.

With that love and more time in the national spotlight, Wendell Moore Jr. could build on his Bojangles promos and the likes to become, well, one rich Blue Devil.

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