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Get to Know: Wendell Carter Jr.

It’s not often, if ever, a 5-star recruit is debating going to Harvard, but that’s exactly what Wendell Carter Jr. was deciding on during his college recruitment. His parents were pushing Harvard, but Carter wanted Duke.

“They made that very well known,” Carter said. “I think I made the best decision for me and my family. I think it paid off.”

Carter, the 6’10” center from Atlanta is now projected to be a Top-10 pick. At Duke, he was sharing the floor with multiple future NBA stars, which Is a Duke tradition by now. But the one-and-done is out to prove he’s worthy of a high selection on his own, with the skill-set needed be a stretch big the NBA is clamoring for.

Carter finished his lone season at Duke averaging 13.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2 assists on 56.1 percent shooting. Carter didn’t take many treys, but his form is excellent and finished at 41.3 percent on the year. He also made Second-Team All-ACC.

Many scouts believe Carter has tons of untapped potential, as playing alongside Marvin Bagley limited what could’ve been much greater production. When Bagley missed 4 games in February, Carter averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks on 46.8 percent shooting.

Carter thinks his game will translate even better at the NBA level, and given his limited opportunities as a Blue Devil, it’s hard to disagree. Whoever selects the Pace Academy veteran could have themselves a gem.

Best Quote:

“The problem that I see is not with the student-athletes, it’s not with the coaches or the institutions of higher learning but it’s with a system…where the laborers are the only people that are not being compensated for the work that they do while those in charge receive mighty compensation,” Wendell Carter Jr.’s mother, Kylia, said. “The only two systems where I’ve known that to be in place are slavery and the prison system. And now I see the NCAA as overseers of a system that is identical to that. So it’s difficult for me to sit here and not say that there is a problem that is sickening.”

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