Duke Basketball: Vernon Carey emerges as go-to star player for Blue Devils

Carey’s status in the draft

Last night Carey became the second-ever player under Coach Krzyzewski to have three consecutive 20-and-10 games. The other? Marvin Bagley. That is not saying Carey is on the same “number two pick” trajectory that Bagley was, but it is saying he should start to be taken seriously as a very legitimate draft prospect.

Going into the season it was pretty well-understood that Carey was going to feast on college defenders down on the low block, of which he has been doing to an elite degree. But outside of that, he did have a large collection of skepticisms.

There were concerns regarding his work ethic, his focus/effort on the defensive end, his ability to make an impact throughout an entire game (conditioning worries), his ability to make an impact without the ball in his hands; everything was seemingly in question. Thus far, Carey has done everything he can do to answer those honest criticisms.

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In watching the Duke/Georgetown game last night, it was quite obvious who was the anchor for the Blue Devils on both sides of the floor: Vernon Carey. His focus and activity were equal on either end. On defense, he was in the trenches for every shot inside, he was making right reads off switches, he was fading off for doubles at the right times; he was a different player than what the scouting report suggested.

It’s the same story for his ability to make an impact off of the ball, which he seems to be figuring out how to do more so effectively each game. Carey’s finding himself as a first-class rebounder and pick-setter. His strength makes him a serious threat for offensive boards at all times, and his gravity on defenders when cutting off of screens lays the groundwork for many open looks. Like his defensive impact, Carey’s work off-ball might’ve also been overlooked by scouts.

It is still early to be granted, which is a fact that can either help or hurt Carey’s current case. Perhaps he’s just riding off early season energy right now, and his work off-ball and on defense will fade away with time. But on the other side of things, it’s again still early – and as was aforementioned – there’s still aspects of his game left to be seen.

Carey taking his game to the outside more often could open up his game to endless means in the eyes of NBA scouts. Hitting more threes and attacking more close-outs is not only a hidden key for Duke, it also could open the door to his draft stock rising indescribably in 2020. The future is trending up for Carey though, if it keeps doing so big things are to come for both him and Duke.