Duke guard Tyrese Proctor is entering the NBA draft and skipping his senior season.
The team announced Proctor's move in a social-media post Friday night. The 6-foot-6, 183-pound junior from Australia was a three-year starter and one of Jon Scheyer’s first incoming recruits when he took over for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski.
Proctor, who reclassified to get to college a year early in 2022, came on in the second half of his freshman season, then was a complementary scorer averaging in double figures for the rest of his college career. He also worked as a reliable defender, a combination that could make him a possible first-round pick.
Proctor averaged 12.4 points while shooting a career-best 45.2% from the field and 40.5% from 3-point range this year to help Duke win a second Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title in Scheyer's three seasons and reach the Final Four. His March Madness run included a two-game tear to start the NCAA Tournament in which he made 13 of 16 3-pointers, though he had quiet games in the Sweet 16 win against Arizona and the loss to Houston in the national semifinals.
In a video posted to social media by the program, Scheyer said it had been “an incredible ride” for Proctor and called him a “steadying force on the floor.”
“It's time for him to chase that NBA dream,” Scheyer said.
Freshman wing Kon Knueppel was the first Blue Devils player to announce an early jump to the NBA draft earlier this week.
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Aaron Beard, The Associated Press
