Duke’s Vernon Carey Jr. Expected To Go Pro

Duke freshman center Vernon Carey Jr. is expected to be declare for the NBA draft with the intention of staying in and going pro, a source tells Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link).

In his first and potentially only season as a Blue Devil, Carey averaged 17.8 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 1.6 BPG in 31 games (24.9 MPG). He shot 57.7% from the field and even made 38.1% of his tries from beyond the arc, albeit on just 21 three-point attempts.

Carey, currently ranked No. 28 on ESPN’s big board, has shown the makings of an inside-outside game and is a very strong positional rebounder, ESPN’s Mike Schmitz writes in his scouting report. Schmitz cautions that the big man has dealt with some health and conditioning issues and struggles with defending in space and seeing the floor when passing.

Here’s more on the 2020 NBA draft:

• Iowa big man Luka Garza, ranked 81st on ESPN’s big board, announced on Twitter that he is entering the draft while maintaining his college eligibility. Garza had a big year in 2019/20 as a junior, averaging 23.9 PPG, 9.8 RPG, and 1.8 BPG on .542/.358/.651 shooting in 31 games (32.0 MPG).
• Mississippi State junior guard Nick Weatherspoon, who tweeted a farewell message today to fans, will be declaring for the draft and going pro, sources confirm to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Weatherspoon, who first tested the draft waters in 2018, increased his averages to 11.6 PPG and 4.1 APG in 2019/20. He projects to go undrafted.
• Creighton junior guard Ty-Shon Alexander is expected to enter the draft and will likely forgo his remaining college eligibility, a source tells Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link). Alexander is coming off a big year in which he led the Bluejays with 16.9 PPG while chipping in 5.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 1.3 SPG while making 39.9% of his threes.
• In case you missed it, we wrote earlier this afternoon about how NBA teams hope to convince the league to push the draft back until at least August.