Originally Posted by
DavidBenAkiva
I don't think anyone knows for sure. Maybe Baker doesn't, either. I haven't seen anything that definitely says this is his last year at Duke or that he is for sure going to stay.
If only there was someone here who had, you know, actually spoken to Joey about it.
Oh wait... I'm here!
I've asked him about it twice and he gives me the impression that he truly has not decided anything. He seems (rightly) focused on this season and not really thinking about what comes next.
And I think one reason Joey is not decided is that he does not know how he will feel after this season is done. Factors that could play into his decision --
1) His fellow senior classmates will be mostly graduating and moving on. Does Joey want to stick around when many of his friends are gone? Even among his Duke teammates, it is likely that only small handful of the guys currently on the team will be returning, and they will most likely be guys younger than Joey like Blakes, Keels, and Roach.
2) What will his playing time look like this year? I don't think anyone expects Joey to start, but if he shoots the way we know he is capable of shooting it is not impossible to imagine him having a significant role off the bench at the 3 and even as a small-ball 4.
3) What will his playing time look like next year? Duke is likely to have freshmen contending for Joey's preferred positions next year. If he has a good year this year and breaks out a bit, it is not at all unfathomable that Joey projects as a starter next season.
4) How does Joey feel about the coaching change? Does the prospect of being Scheyer's first captain appeal to him?
5) What does Joey want to do next in life? Does he want to play pro ball somewhere? Does he want to maybe move into coaching? Does he want to pursue a career that has nothing to do with hoops?
It is easy to see why Joey would be undecided and we likely won't even have an inkling of the above answers for several months, at least.