Wendell Carter Jr. was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the seventh overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft Thursday night.
Carter, from Atlanta’s Pace Academy, played one season at Duke before declaring for the draft as an early-entry candidate. The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 13.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 37 games for the Blue Devils. Carter had a 56.1 percent shooting percentage. He scored in double-figures in 30 of his 37 games, including a streak of 19 straight games.
» More: Wendell Carter writes about his connection to Atlanta
Carter is the sixth Duke player to shoot better than 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 70 percent from the free-throw line. The last to do it was Shane Battier in 1998-99. In the ACC, he ranked fourth in rebounding and fifth in blocks.
Carter was an All-ACC Second Team selection and an unanimous pick to the league’s All-Freshman Team.
“He has so much more potential, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said recently. “He’s going to keep getting better, because he’s talented and he has the best attitude.”
Carter’s father, Wendell Sr., played professionally in the Dominican Republic and his mother, Kylia, played at the University of Mississippi.
“I think he’s one of those guys who may not be as explosive, but he’s an efficient athlete,” Hawks assistant general manager Jeff Peterson said of Carter during the pre-draft process. “You watch some guys in the league and they get from point A to point B with a few amount of steps, and that’s Wendell. He just knows how to use his body. He’s done a fantastic job with his body. His strength and conditioning are fantastic. I think he will continue to get better athletically. But I also know that he knows he’s never going to be the most explosive, so how can he beat you in other ways. It’s through efficiency, it’s through his mind, proper footwork.”
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