ESPN Article: "Wendell Carter is Duke's Forgotten Star"

[WVDUKEFAN]

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22265305/duke-blue-devils-freshman-wendell-carter-jr-learning-how-play-spotlight-marvin-bagley-iii

I couldn't disagree more. I think the big numbers by Bags may draw the headlines, but WC has been the most consistent Blue Devil throughout the season. Keep it up, Wendell!!! You're the man!

[DukieInBrasil]

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22265305/duke-blue-devils-freshman-wendell-carter-jr-learning-how-play-spotlight-marvin-bagley-iii

I couldn't disagree more. I think the big numbers by Bags may draw the headlines, but WC has been the most consistent Blue Devil throughout the season. Keep it up, Wendell!!! You're the man!

Very nice article. Sounds like Wendell is a pretty thoughtful and well-rounded young man. It's cool to know that he went to New Zealand, a place i've dreamed of going for a long time. As a former Peace Corps volunteer, i swear that travelling is the best education you can get, and if you allow it, can humanize you, give you insight and grow your empathy. Those are all things that make you a better human.
The only thing i can really quibble about in the article is the claim that Wendell leads the team in 3pt shooting. That would be Alex O'Connell, who has hit 3 more 3s than Wendell on 3 more attempts, for a 51.6% compared to Wendell's 46.4%, both of which are really good.

[Truth&Justise]

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22265305/duke-blue-devils-freshman-wendell-carter-jr-learning-how-play-spotlight-marvin-bagley-iii

I couldn't disagree more. I think the big numbers by Bags may draw the headlines, but WC has been the most consistent Blue Devil throughout the season. Keep it up, Wendell!!! You're the man!

Wonderful article. Wendell has been phenomenal, such a joy to cheer for him. What a tremendous addition to the Duke family.

[ehdg]

Yes very good article. I've thought all season how good he is and unassuming. He's taken well to not being the force/spot light cause of Bagley. He's just gone about his business at Duke while if he played on pretty much any other team he's be The Big Thing!! He's shown by example how much one can accomplish by being a team player and not needing to get the spot light all the time.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

Wendell Carter! Wendell Carter! Wendell Carter! Count on him. Bless his heart.
Love, Ima

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I enjoy watching that young man play. He and Bagley seem to be all business.

[UrinalCake]

Hard to call him “forgotten” when every single game the broadcasters spend several minutes discussing how he’s so overlooked. But yeah, he’s been so steady for us all season and is going to make a great pro.

[thedukelamere]

Hard to call him “forgotten” when every single game the broadcasters spend several minutes discussing how he’s so overlooked. But yeah, he’s been so steady for us all season and is going to make a great pro.

Death, taxes, Gary missing a free throw after someone references his FT%, and one of the broadcasters mentioning how Wendell was THE GUY until Bags reclassified.

[OZ]

Hard to call him “forgotten” when every single game the broadcasters spend several minutes discussing how he’s so overlooked. But yeah, he’s been so steady for us all season and is going to make a great pro.

... and they talk incessantly about MBIII; while keeping at least 37 cameras focused on Allen in case he breaks wind.

[Bob Green]

I am thoroughly enjoying watching Wendell Carter play basketball this season. He is averaging 14.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game with 10 double-double performances to date. He has scored in double figures 19 times in 22 games. Carter is a rock solid performer who is not forgotten or overlooked by me.

My big takeaway from the article is this statement from Carter:


I'm learning to establish my role, I get isolations in the post and within the offense we run. Me and Marvin are always looking for each other. A lot of teams, they'll double us, so if they double me, I'm looking for him and vice versa. We can play off each other.

There is no doubt Carter is benefiting from playing alongside Bagley and Bagley is benefiting from playing alongside Carter.

[Native]

I'm really high on Carter. When the NBA Draft rolls around, I won't be shocked if he is drafted just low enough in the first round to carve out a solid role on a team in contention that needs exactly him. He'll be a great pro.

[English]

In New Zealand, Carter said, every facet of a tattoo is supposed to reflect something personal, and the man simply took Carter's story and turned it into art.

This makes me chuckle. I sure hope that making a tattoo--which is kinda, sorta likely to stay with you for awhile--reflect something personal isn't unique to the kiwis.

The quote also reminds of the scene in Pulp Fiction, when the cab driver, Esmeralda Villalobos, explains what her name means. Bruce Willis explains to her that in America, names don't mean s&^%.

[DukieInBrasil]

This makes me chuckle. I sure hope that making a tattoo--which is kinda, sorta likely to stay with you for awhile--reflect something personal isn't unique to the kiwis.

The quote also reminds of the scene in Pulp Fiction, when the cab driver, Esmeralda Villalobos, explains what her name means. Bruce Willis explains to her that in America, names don't mean s&^%.

That's not really true. Maybe most Americans don't care about what their name means, but most of those names do have an etymological root meaning. Michael, Gabriel, any name ending -el from the biblical tradition, -el means angel, withe prefix to that signifying what that angel's job was. Aaron means "man of the mountain", Aron means "ark of the covenant". Peter comes from the old Latin for rock (pedra in Portuguese, piedra in Spanish). Bruce is a Scottish clan. etc etc etc.

[camion]

That's not really true. Maybe most Americans don't care about what their name means, but most of those names do have an etymological root meaning. Michael, Gabriel, any name ending -el from the biblical tradition, -el means angel, withe prefix to that signifying what that angel's job was. Aaron means "man of the mountain", Aron means "ark of the covenant". Peter comes from the old Latin for rock (pedra in Portuguese, piedra in Spanish). Bruce is a Scottish clan. etc etc etc.

True, most names come from words.

But also true what Bruce Willis said. The qualities associated with a name don't necessarily align with the qualities of the bearer of the name.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Carter has been, to me, the most consistent Duke player in ACC play. I would even venture to say he's been our best player in ACC play (Bagley has been the best throughout the year, but Carter has looked insanely good over the last ~8 games or so). I know the stats may not show it, but Carter is more engaged on D and just looks so much smarter and comfortable out there.

I'm so happy for this dude. I thought he'd get overshadowed by Bagley but it turns out he's getting a fair amount of recognition. To me, Bags and Carter are our two most important players right now. If Grayson continues his ND play and Duval becomes more consistent, I'll change my tune. I love having Carter out there. What a beast.

[SkyBrickey]

The truth is I don't Wendell is overlooked by Duke fans but he is overshadowed on the national stage by Bagley.

Here's something to think about. The two best freshman big men during the Coach K era have been Elton Brand and Jahlil Okafor.

Elton averaged 13.4 pts, 7.3 reb, 0.592 FG%, 1.3 blocks, 0.5 assists.

Jahlil averaged 17.3 pts, 8.5 reb, 0.664 FG%, 1.4 blocks, 1.3 assists.

Carter is averaging 14.5 pts, 9.3 reb, 0.617 FG%, 2.0 blocks, 1.9 assists (in 26 minutes per game).

If it weren't for Bagley, we would be lauding Carter for the best freshman big man campaign during Coach K's 30+ years. And I don't have any doubt that he'd be playing 30+ minutes per game and all these stats - especially scoring - would be a bit higher if he weren't sharing the post with Bagley.

Oh, and here's Bagley's stat line for the season...

Bagley is averaging 21.5 pts, 11.4 reb, 0.599 FG%, 1.1 blocks, 1.5 assists

Based on the stats you could definitely make the argument that Coach K landed his two best freshman big men in the same year: 2017-18.

[English]

The truth is I don't Wendell is overlooked by Duke fans but he is overshadowed on the national stage by Bagley.

Here's something to think about. The two best freshman big men during the Coach K era have been Elton Brand and Jahlil Okafor.

Elton averaged 13.4 pts, 7.3 reb, 0.592 FG%, 1.3 blocks, 0.5 assists.

Jahlil averaged 17.3 pts, 8.5 reb, 0.664 FG%, 1.4 blocks, 1.3 assists.

Carter is averaging 14.5 pts, 9.3 reb, 0.617 FG%, 2.0 blocks, 1.9 assists (in 26 minutes per game).

If it weren't for Bagley, we would be lauding Carter for the best freshman big man campaign during Coach K's 30+ years. And I don't have any doubt that he'd be playing 30+ minutes per game and all these stats - especially scoring - would be a bit higher if he weren't sharing the post with Bagley.

Oh, and here's Bagley's stat line for the season...

Bagley is averaging 21.5 pts, 11.4 reb, 0.599 FG%, 1.1 blocks, 1.5 assists

Based on the stats you could definitely make the argument that Coach K landed his two best freshman big men in the same year: 2017-18.

All true things. Might we throw Jabari into that freshman bigs at Duke mix?

Jabari Parker averaged: 19.1 pts, 8.7 reb, 0.473 FG% (0.358 3FG%), 1.2 assists

[Neals384]

The quote also reminds of the scene in Pulp Fiction, when the cab driver, Esmeralda Villalobos, explains what her name means. Bruce Willis explains to her that in America, names don't mean s&^%.

Of course names have meanings, even in America. By the way, "Neal" means "champion." Just sayin'

[COYS]

All true things. Might we throw Jabari into that freshman bigs at Duke mix?

Jabari Parker averaged: 19.1 pts, 8.7 reb, 0.473 FG% (0.358 3FG%), 1.2 assists

Jabari was fantastic at Duke, of course, but if we factor in defense, I would argue that Wendell has been every bit as impressive as Jabari and wouldn't dismiss an argument that his defense actually gives him the edge.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I certainly haven't overlooked or forgotten Wendell this year, but if other teams are inclined to forget or overlook him on defense, I'm all in.

[English]

That's not really true. Maybe most Americans don't care about what their name means, but most of those names do have an etymological root meaning. Michael, Gabriel, any name ending -el from the biblical tradition, -el means angel, withe prefix to that signifying what that angel's job was. Aaron means "man of the mountain", Aron means "ark of the covenant". Peter comes from the old Latin for rock (pedra in Portuguese, piedra in Spanish). Bruce is a Scottish clan. etc etc etc.


Of course names have meanings, even in America. By the way, "Neal" means "champion." Just sayin'

Thanks guys. I'll let Quentin Taratino know.

[SkyBrickey]

All true things. Might we throw Jabari into that freshman bigs at Duke mix?

Jabari Parker averaged: 19.1 pts, 8.7 reb, 0.473 FG% (0.358 3FG%), 1.2 assists

Great point. I don't naturally think of Jabari as a big man because he played so much away from the basket, but he definitely put up some big man type numbers.

[Troublemaker]

Wendell has some impressive advanced stats on Synergy Sports, according to this article (Bleacher Report) (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2756996-the-sleeper-we-all-know-about-nba-scouts-love-dukes-other-top-10-prospect).

Sample:

https://i.imgur.com/oxEhHvF.png

[COYS]

Wendell has some impressive advanced stats on Synergy Sports, according to this article (Bleacher Report) (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2756996-the-sleeper-we-all-know-about-nba-scouts-love-dukes-other-top-10-prospect).

Sample:

https://i.imgur.com/oxEhHvF.png

Thanks for sharing. This just does more to confirm the suspicions of many of us that if it weren't for Bagley, then Carter could very well be having the best rookie season for a big man in Duke history.

Another note: with the exception of the eventual blowout against the Irish, Carter has been much better at limiting his fouls over the last five games. Prior to this recent stretch, Wendell had averaged 3.8 fouls/game in 9 games against Big 5 conference schools. That number is actually made to look a lot lower because he miraculously had a zero foul performance against Boston College. However, beginning with the Miami game, he's averaged only 2.2 fouls/game . . . which includes a few fouls he picked up in almost garbage time against Notre Dame. During this time, he's also exceeded 30 minutes in every contest save for the ND blowout. He had only done that twice in the previous nine games against top competition.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Duke has also played its best team defense during this stretch.