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Duke basketball: Unfair label haunts draft stock of Vernon Carey Jr.

If not for the aggression of Vernon Carey Jr. down low last season, the Duke basketball team might've doubled its five losses. Yet for some reason, the 6-foot-10, 270-pound center can't shake the "uninspired" tag that attached to him before arriving in Durham as the No. 6 prospect on the 247Sports 2019 Composite.

Of the six Blue Devils who've snagged any National Freshman of the Year hardware this century — each left Duke after one year — Carey Jr. is sure to fall farthest in a draft. Luol Deng, Jabari Parker, Jahlil Okafor, Marvin Bagley III, and Zion Williamson went No.