Probabilities of Duke basketball players leaving: The 50 percent club
This one depends on which way the wind is blowing.
Joey Baker is a senior, the last remaining member of the legendary Duke basketball recruiting class that featured Zion, RJ, Cam, and Tre Stones. But he has the extra year remaining, if he so chooses, due to the NCAA not counting the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season against anyone’s eligibility.
That is poetic justice for Baker. Mike Krzyzewski famously burned his redshirt in 2018-19, just for fleeting minutes off the bench in the late stage of the season. Also, he left high school a year early, so it seems almost certain the sharpshooting wing will return to college for another year.
The question is whether he will do it for our beloved Blue Devils. He’s shooting 40.3 percent beyond the arc. When he gets hot, it is almost JJ Redick-like, but minutes and consistency are, as always, the questions surrounding Baker.
He barely saw the floor in the ACC Tournament and looked out of place against quick and tough veteran teams. On the other hand, Baker is one of only three players on this team who have been part of tournament squads. And even if the minutes haven’t been significant, the lessons must have been.
Jon Scheyer’s top-ranked 2022 recruiting class, paired with the chance to lead another team like so many Duke basketball veterans lately, may push Baker elsewhere. Like Wendell Moore, his leadership and experience would help the Blue Devils next year, but I think Scheyer is preparing to hand the keys over to someone else (more on that to come).
I think Joey Baker transfers and goes on to shine somewhere else.
