Cassius Stanley on Social Media Rumors He Was Staying at Duke: Blame Joey Baker

Cassius Stanley declared for the NBA Draft earlier this week.

Many Duke fans were hopeful that he would stay another year, after he appeared to flirt with the idea in a series of social media posts.

He posted several images and gifs that appeared to indicate he was considering a return, and, on March 31, teammate Joey Baker tagged him in a tweet, asking him to “2tay.” (Stanley wore jersey No. 2 last season.)

Stanley responded with, of course, a gif, which depicted someone saying, "Call me," leading to another explosion on Duke fan Twitter.

“Joey Baker didn’t help the cause,” Stanley said. “He kind of—to some people—he led them on. I take some part in it, but also I’m going to sit here and throw Joey under the bus. Joey Baker is public enemy number one for all people who are mad at my decision. I didn’t mean to lead anybody on the wrong way. I just want all the Duke fans to know I love all of them and love Duke. If I could, if I really could, I would stay another year.”

Stanley credited Duke for helping to get him ready him for the NBA.

“I think it prepared me a lot,” he said. “Coming to Duke, coming to Durham, was great. Being with Coach K is great preparation too, because the way he runs everything is professional, from top to bottom. It’s just high-level, and so he really holds us accountable. He really treats us like pros before the pros.”

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