Duke basketball center Dereck Lively will enter his name into the 2023 NBA draft after one season with the Blue Devils, the freshman big announced via his Twitter page.
“Overall, I love Duke,” said Lively. “I love everyone here. This has been an amazing experience for me.
“I will be entering my name into the 2023 NBA Draft.”
A former five-star center out of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, Lively committed to Duke over offers from Kentucky, North Carolina, Florida, LSU, Memphis, Miami, Michigan and Ohio State, among others, according to 247Sports. The McDonald's All-American participant scored 5.2 points, grabbed 5.4 rebounds and blocked 2.4 shots per game in his lone season with the Blue Devils.
The Duke men's basketball program earned a record of 27-9 and took a 14-6 record against conference opponents in the first season under head coach Jon Scheyer. Dereck Lively grabbed 11 boards and blocked two shots in a 65-52 win by Tennessee in the second round of March Madness, a game that saw Volunteers guard Olivier Nkamhoua score 27 points in 22 minutes as he hit 10 of his 13 field goal attempts.
“The work never stops, stay the course,” junior guard Jeremy Roach said. “Keep your head high. We've got to be proud of this season.
“Obviously, like you said, ACC champs, one game away from being co-regular season. We had a hell of a season. It's something to be proud of.”
Forward Mark Mitchell announced he would return for his sophomore season at Duke in a Thursday tweet. Mitchell scored 9.1 points per game in 35 games for the Blue Devils, highlighted by 18 points during an early-November win over Jacksonville.
“He's been a key guy for us,” said Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, via On3 writer and editor Steve Samra. “He's started every game. He's been — he's really the guy where he defends everybody, he's a jack-of-all-trades. You can have anybody on the court with him.”
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