Trevor Keels to remain in NBA draft
Former Duke guard won’t return for Blue Devils
Down to the wire to stay in the NBA draft or return to Duke, Trevor Keels is opting for the former and won’t be back as a sophomore for the Blue Devils.
Keels announced Wednesday night that he’s remaining in the NBA draft.
By all accounts and reports, this was a toss-up of a decision for Keels, who’s seen as a late-first-round/early-second-round draft pick. Returning to Duke would’ve offered a chance to improve his stock; taking the jump to the NBA now means Keels is gambling, to an extent, that he’ll be a first-round pick and receive a guaranteed contract.
The announcement comes after program sources told Devils Illustrated they weren’t sure which way Keels was leaning, just that it was going to be a down-to-the-wire decision.
News about Keels’ decision came about two hours before the deadline.
Earlier this month at the NBA Draft Combine, Keels reportedly performed well in private workouts for teams and looked to be slimmed down from the 221 pounds he played at last season – though his body fat was measured at 13.5%.
Players had until midnight Wednesday to withdraw from the draft.
Keels’ debut won’t soon be forgotten, a 25-point performance against Kentucky at Madison Square Garden. He struggled to find consistency after that, though, with only two other 20-point games (at Clemson and Pittsburgh) for the rest of the season.
One of Keels’ strongest games came in the Final Four against UNC, when he scored 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting. He also made clutch plays down the stretch in NCAA tournament wins against Michigan State and Arkansas.
Keels was the only one of the five Blue Devils who had a choice to make about remaining in the draft or returning to Duke. Paolo Banchero, AJ Griffin and Mark Williams all seem to be locks to drafted in the first 15 picks, and Wendell Moore Jr. – despite being a fringe first-round prospect, according to reports – has been steadfast in remaining in the draft.
Keels came to Duke as a 5-star, the No. 23-ranked player in the Class of 2021. He went to the same high school as Jeremy Roach, Duke’s junior point guard.
The departure means Duke needs to find a starting guard – and the solution to that becomes all the more complicated after A.J. Green chose to remain in the draft. Green, a Northern Iowa transfer, visited Duke in mid-May.