Wendell Carter is a top-ten freshman for Duke basketball. After an exhibition game, though, he made a statement about he probably shouldn’t have.
On Nov. 4, Duke doubled up Bowie State in an exhibition game, winning 116-53. The Blue Devils were led by their star freshmen as Marvin Bagley, Gary Trent Jr. and Wendell Carter combined for over 75 points in the rout.
While Bagley is considered the top player in the 2017 recruiting class, Carter may have the most impact on Duke’s title hopes for this season. He had 23 points and 14 rebounds in the warm-up game and showed the same talent that has people salivating over his potential pro prospects.
He was flawless during the game, but made a verbal announcement right after during a post-game interview with the Duke Chronicle that raised some eyebrows.
"“We don’t have as many shooters as Duke has had in the past, but we have phenomenal big men who, when people do shoot, are all over the offensive glass. We’re going to go out there and play the way we’ve been playing—hustling, rebounding. We should be undefeated this year.”"
Now let’s be clear. This was by no means a disrespectful comment that should be met with scorn or outrage. We don’t need a public apology or anything like that. However, was it really necessary to say something like this?
Duke comes in as the No. 1 ranked team to start out the season again, with Vegas dubbing them as the favorite to win the National Championship. There was already a target on their backs as the top team and that’s grown just a bit larger now.
There’s a reason why the last undefeated team in Division I college basketball occurred 40 years ago. Just this past decade alone, we’ve seen constant transfers, the emergence of international players, one-and-done players, and the rise of a few mid-majors. That’s led to an increase in parity across the spectrum.
That level of parity in college basketball makes Sweet Sixteen appearances a major accomplishment. The ACC is the hardest conference to win the regular season title, let alone thinking about going undefeated. This conversation itself could be a moot point if Michigan State beats Duke in the Champions Classic on Nov. 14.
Right now, Duke does not appear to be in the right mindset coming into the start of the season. Three freshmen were suspended for the Bowie State game (Trevon Duval, Jordan Goodwire and Alex O’Connell) due to academic reasons. With the only senior on the team being Grayson Allen, who himself had issues last season, there’s a big need for leadership if this team wants to make a deep run.
There’s no need to give people bulletin board material and make life harder for yourself. Besides, the Blue Devils will be judged by what happens at the end of the season. A few years ago, Kentucky won every game before the semi-finals against Wisconsin. That loss is how we ultimately remembered that team by.
Next: Ten predictions for Duke in 2017-18
Like I said before, this isn’t the biggest deal in the world. But, it’s an unforced error by a bright and talented young man. The only thing he and his teammates should be thinking about right now is getting better each game so that they’ll be ready for their potential NCAA title run in March. Right now, they’re not physically ready to win it all and no team ever is. Although judging by what’s been happening with these freshmen, they’re not mentally ready either.