Carter considering coming back?!?!?! (UPDATE: He went to the NBA)

[LasVegas]

People sure seem to know a lot about what Wendell WILL do without ever meeting him or talking with him. Color me impressed!

Like a few posters have pointed out, coming back is a less of a risk for him in comparison to someone like JMM. I would be willing to bet a large sum of money that Wendell would improve his stock.

I don’t really think there is a bad decision here to make. Either route is great.

[Messimorgan17]

I dunno. If K passed on E.J. Montgomery, it may have been because of Wendell's return.

In the back of my mind, when Jordan Tucker announced he was transferring, I thought, perhaps Duke had a real chance at Zion. Duke pursued Tucker because it lost Knox to Kentucky...

We can only dream but what a dream.

[cato]

I remember Luol Deng saying how much he loved Duke and wanted to stay, right before he declared. Then a year later he talked about how much he missed Duke and wished he could have stayed. It’s like being kicked in the crotch repeatedly.

All of this can be true, and yet people could still make the same decision.

Heck, I would have loved to stay at Duke beyond my four years. But life after school beckoned.

[Acymetric]

As for Carter, I certainly can't say I think he'll be back, even after this article. Not remotely so. That being said, I can certainly make a reasonable argument as to why one could choose to return. It goes something like this:

1. He'd be the 5th big taken in this draft (behind Ayton, Bagley, Jackson, and Bamba), taken in the back half of the lottery. Next year, he'd be the #1 big, taken probably top 3. That's a multi-million dollar difference in salary over the first 3 years - perhaps as much as $8-10 million difference. And I don't think that an extra year in college means one fewer years in the NBA (I think NBA years are harder on players physically than college years), so I don't know that it would necessarily be lost salary on the back end. We could certainly quibble about present value of money, but it's far from certain that going will mean more present value for money in this case.
2. If he's happy in school, staying has value.
3. If he isn't ready emotionally, staying has value.
4. If he wants a mulligan on his NCAA tourney experience, staying has value.

Again, I STRONGLY suspect he's going pro. I'd be quite shocked if he came back. This article does nothing to change that. But I could certainly understand a decision to come back.

He should do whatever will make him happiest. I have no idea what that is for him though. I'll be good with whatever it is.

I also suspect he will be gone, but would love to have him back. With regard to your comment about NBA years, I think that makes a lot of sense. You might even be able to make the case (although I have no numbers, stats, or medical background to back this up) that an extra year of college conditioning (which is at a higher level than takes place in the NBA) would have your body more prepared for the shock of that first year or two of NBA grind (look at the body type difference between a rookie and the same player several years later, it is usually pretty pronounced). That might help limit risk of some overuse injuries early in a career which, once they occur, can tend to linger for a time. Or maybe it wouldn't, just a thought.

I remember Luol Deng saying how much he loved Duke and wanted to stay, right before he declared. Then a year later he talked about how much he missed Duke and wished he could have stayed. It’s like being kicked in the crotch repeatedly.

Luol had some very compelling reasons to go (he essentially had to go) that do not necessarily apply to Carter. I do think Luol really wanted to stay (and I would have loved to have him) but you have to respect a man taking care of his family. Very different situations IMO, this seems a lot more like Miles Bridges last year to me although I expect a different outcome.

[duke79]

All of this can be true, and yet people could still make the same decision.

Heck, I would have loved to stay at Duke beyond my four years. But life after school beckoned.

LOL, exactly why I went to Duke Law School!

[heartofgold]

How about we start dreaming about a line up that includes Carter? Granted low chances of it happening but fun to contemplate... Maybe our 3 point shooting from all the wide open shots we got from teams packing in to defend down low... We would be a rebounding machine that's for sure.

[devildeac]

All of this can be true, and yet people could still make the same decision.

Heck, I would have loved to stay at Duke beyond my four years. But life after school beckoned.

It's possible. My sophomore roommate took the 6.5 year plan to graduate from Duke.

[Kedsy]

Maybe our 3 point shooting from all the wide open shots we got from teams packing in to defend down low...

Well, except Wendell might often be our best three-point shooter on the floor...

[kAzE]

Well, except Wendell might often be our best three-point shooter on the floor...

I was going to say . . . with Zion as another physical presence crashing the boards on offense, it might not be a terrible idea to have Wendell shooting more 3s, especially since he'd be making the opposing center come out to the perimeter, and leaving wide open lanes for RJ/Cam/Zion to posterize people in the paint.

What an unconventional Duke team that would be.

[kako]

If it's the 23rd of April, 2018, and Carter hasn't submitted his name for the draft, then I'll get excited. He may even submit his name, but not hire an agent... which will bring me back down to earth again. I personally am assuming he's gone until it's clear he's staying. And then you can knock me over with a feather.

I don't know if there's ever been a clear OAD lottery pick who hasn't gone pro after his freshman year. People can dream up reasons, but hard to believe Carter would be the first. Until then, I think discussion on this are a little like planning what to do if you win the lottery... it's just dreaming.

9F

[devildeac]

[kAzE]

If it's the 23rd of April, 2018, and Carter hasn't submitted his name for the draft, then I'll get excited. He may even submit his name, but not hire an agent... which will bring me back down to earth again. I personally am assuming he's gone until it's clear he's staying. And then you can knock me over with a feather.

I don't know if there's ever been a clear OAD lottery pick who hasn't gone pro after his freshman year. People can dream up reasons, but hard to believe Carter would be the first. Until then, I think discussion on this are a little like planning what to do if you win the lottery... it's just dreaming.

9F

There's been a few: Marcus Smart and Miles Bridges are the most recent examples. But that's 2 out of hundreds, so while it's certainly extremely rare, it's not unprecedented.

Robert Williams also came back to school this year, but he was a bit little less of a lottery guarantee in 2017.

[gocanes0506]

Yea could Carter work on being more a NBA style big man next year? Sure. More ball handling / pick and pop style play / quicker feet to defend on the perimeter. With one basketball and the three top players in the class on the team as well, how much offense will go through Carter? I cant imagine much. His touches were already "limited" by MBIII. What would Barrett, Zion, etc do? I dont think the juice is worth the squeeze. 1 year closer to a degree isnt worth getting paid a solid dollar amount to work on the same skills.

[LasVegas]

If it's the 23rd of April, 2018, and Carter hasn't submitted his name for the draft, then I'll get excited. He may even submit his name, but not hire an agent... which will bring me back down to earth again. I personally am assuming he's gone until it's clear he's staying. And then you can knock me over with a feather.

I don't know if there's ever been a clear OAD lottery pick who hasn't gone pro after his freshman year. People can dream up reasons, but hard to believe Carter would be the first. Until then, I think discussion on this are a little like planning what to do if you win the lottery... it's just dreaming.

9F

Marcus smart? Miles bridges? Blake griffin? Sullinger?

[DukeFanSince1990]

Don't screw with my feelings like this...lol

[CDu]

There's been two: Marcus Smart and Miles Bridges. But that's 2 out of hundreds, so while it's certainly extremely rare, it's not unprecedented.

Robert Williams also came back to school this year, but he was a bit little less of a lottery guarantee in 2017.

Harrison Barnes and Blake Griffin as well. And while we're at it, Ed Davis and James Michael McAdoo. But yeah, outside of UNC players it's quite rare, but not unprecedented.

[DukieInKansas]

It's possible. My sophomore roommate took the 6.5 year plan to graduate from Duke.

And there is always Zero - I met him my freshman year and he was a senior. I ran into him on campus my senior year and he still hadn't graduated/left. And this was n the way back years when people usually took just 4 years to graduate.

[gus]

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[hallcity]

I'll be surprised if Carter comes back but I'd also say that we should not discount emotion as a driver of human behavior. Wendell being thrilled by the emotional rollercoaster of a college basketball season. Wendell feeling his college experience was incomplete after the loss to Kansas. Wendell seeing those retired jerseys in the rafters. Wendell experiencing the senior speeches at the end of the Carolina game. Wendell meeting people like Jay Bilas, Jay Williams, Grant Hill, and Shane Battier. Those have an impact.

Wendell is almost certainly going to end up a very wealthy man whether he goes now or goes later. He'll probably end up a wealthier man if he goes now but, while it might be an emotional decision to stay, it's not unreasonable to think that he could end up with a more successful life as a whole if he stays at Duke and gets a degree.

To put this in non-basketball terms, there are plenty of very smart people who get Ph.Ds in the humanities who would have been far better off financially if they had gotten MBAs and gone to work on Wall Street but don't try to tell them they made a mistake.

[elvis14]

You must spread some Comments around before commenting on gus again.