Published May 18, 2022
Joey Baker enters transfer portal
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Conor O'Neill  •  DevilsIllustrated
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Baker will graduate this summer and use final season of eligibility elsewhere

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Joey Baker won’t be using his final season of eligibility with Duke’s men’s basketball team, after all.

Duke announced Wednesday that Baker has entered the transfer portal, having played four seasons with the Blue Devils. He’s seeking his undergraduate degree at the end of the second summer semester, so he’d be a graduate transfer and would be immediately eligible.

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The announcement comes a little more than a month after it was announced that Baker underwent hip surgery after Duke’s season ended and that he was going to return for a fifth season.

Obviously, things changed recently.

Baker leaves Duke having played 88 games for the Blue Devils in the last four seasons. He averaged 4.5 points per game this past season and was a career 37.9% 3-point shooter (75 of 198).

Baker enrolled early at Duke and was planning to redshirt in his first season (2018-19), but played in four games late that season, burning his redshirt.

Baker came to Duke as a 4-star prospect, holding offers from Kansas, Tennessee and Florida, among others.

The late-spring transfer means Duke’s roster is in more flux than anticipated – though it also clears up space for the Blue Devils to add a transfer (A.J. Green is currently visiting) and/or welcome back Trevor Keels, who’s currently in the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.

Duke has a loaded frontcourt with four 5-star prospects – Dariq Whitehead, Dereck Lively II, Kyle Filipowski and Mark Mitchell – and only one guard with significant experience in Jeremy Roach.