Freshman phenom John McRoberts will play another year at Duke, according to the school’s athletic department website.
“I am very excited about my decision to return to Duke to continue my academic and athletic career,” said McRoberts. “I love the atmosphere at Duke and the support the university receives from the community. There is no place better to play college basketball. I am looking forward to working with the coaching staff to further develop my skills as a player. The relationships that I have in place here played a major role in my decision. I am anxious to see my bond with Coach K, the rest of the staff and my teammates grow even stronger. Additionally, I am eager to continue to build on several relationships that I have developed in the community through working with our outreach programs.”
NBADraft.net has McRoberts going with the tenth pick in their mock draft. The power forward was projected to go as high as fourth when the NCAA tournament began, but it’s unclear whether or not this projected slide has anything to do with his decision to return.
With Shelden Williams gone, McRoberts will be asked to take on more of a scoring load and should be the team’s main inside option. He’s already a pretty good shooter, and I’m not exactly sure why Tyrus Thomas and LaMarcus Aldridge are considered better long-term prospects at the power forward position. I suppose both of those players had more opportunity to shine during the season and in the tournament, but McRoberts play in the second half of the season was spectacular, if a bit inconsistent. What do you expect from a freshman in an elite program?
