Duke basketball officially loses Trevor Keels to NBA Draft

The Duke basketball team has officially lost freshman guard Trevor Keels to the NBA Draft. 

There were about 90 minutes to spare for Duke basketball guard Trevor Keels to make a decision on whether to pull out of the 2022 NBA Draft but the freshman has elected to continue with the process and forego his final three years of eligibility with the Blue Devils.

Keels announced his intentions to go through the draft process on the final day prior to the deadline and his difficult ultimate decision also came down to the wire.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony was the first to report Keels’ intentions to opt for the professional route.

The Blue Devils have now lost five players to the NBA Draft this offseason; Paolo Banchero, AJ Griffin, Mark Williams, Wendell Moore, and Trevor Keels.

Keels is projected as a fringe first round prospect but most mock drafts have him being selected at the beginning of the second round.

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The former five-star recruit averaged 11.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game as a freshman while shooting 41.9-percent from the floor and 31.2-percent from 3-point range.

Trevor Keels was also named to the ACC All-Freshman Team as he struggled with consistency during his only season in Durham.

Many NBA Draft experts believed Keels could have vaulted himself into a lottery pick with one more season in college but the opportunity to play professional was too much to pass up for the Clinton, Maryland native.

Duke basketball pressed into filling final scholarship quickly

The NBA Draft withdrawal deadline was a double whammy for the Blue Devils as not only did Duke see the official departure of Trevor Keels but one of its prime transfer targets, AJ Green, also elected to remain in the draft rather than pull out and transfer.

Green narrowed his transfer options, if he were to return to college, to Duke and Iowa State.

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However, Iowa State was considered as the favorite to land the Northern Iowa product.

Duke has been linked to Texas transfer Courtney Ramey and could be seen as the favorites with Keels and Green no longer an option.

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The 2022 NBA Draft will be held on June 23 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.