1-seed Duke basketball cruised past 9-seed Baylor 89-66 last night to advance to the program's second straight Sweet Sixteen. The Blue Devils will face 4-seed Arizona at 9:39pm ET on CBS this Thursday.
Junior guard Tyrese Proctor has led the way for the Blue Devils and been the best player in the entire NCAA Tournament through the first two rounds. Against the Bears, Proctor put up a game-high 25 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor and 7-of-8 shooting from three-point range.
The junior's journey with the Duke basketball program has been up and down at times. Proctor reclassified to come to Durham early, and probably could've went to the NBA after his freshman season. Then he came back for his sophomore year in 2024 with major expectations, and had a bit of a disappointing season altogether. But as a junior, Proctor has developed into one of the best guards in the country and is playing the best basketball of his college career, especially in the NCAA Tournament.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer talked about his and Proctor's journey over the last three seasons after the Blue Devils' win over Baylor, and couldn't help but get a little emotional when speaking on the bond between the player and the coach.
"You know, Tyrese, I took over in April. And, Tyrese and I had a call May 31st, to come a year early. And, sorry. I think I knew there'd be some rough patches, you know reclassifying. But, there were his first year, but he had some big time moments, like he came on strong down the stretch, and he could've made a decision to even go pro after his freshman year, a year early."
"He doubles down, comes back, huge expectations, and, me and Tyrese would both say his sophomore year didn't go the way we wanted. And I think that's where it's easy to split...We had honest conversations like we always do. But I think the difference is for a guy in that position to take it as opposed to making excuses or running away from it. I think that's the special part. And so for this to happen to Tyrese, to be hitting seven threes and be our key guy and all that after going through all these moments, like if I'm an NBA team, I'm going after him because you have to handle adversity, and I think that speaks a lot to his character."
Scheyer gave high praise to his veteran leader, and Proctor has displayed an incredibly impressive amount of leadership during his junior season where, although he was the backcourt leader, he really took a backseat as the star to freshman phenom Cooper Flagg.
But now, Proctor is turning NBA scouts' and fans' heads as one of the best guards in the nation and is now leading the charge for Duke as the program continues to move towards a sixth national championship in program history.
Proctor is averaging career-highs this season in points per game (12.5), field goal percentage (45.1), and three-point percentage (41.5). The junior has taken on a new level of play since the big dance has begun and his elevated play will make the Blue Devils that much harder to beat.