Vernon Carey Taken by Hornets in Second Round
It took awhile, but Duke center Vernon Carey Jr. became the first Blue Devil taken in the 2020 NBA Draft when the Charlotte Hornets chose him with the second pick of the second round, No. 32 overall.
Carey was named ACC freshman of the year and first team All-ACC in 2019-20, scoring 17.8 ppg and averaging 8.8 rebounds. He chose to leave Duke after one year and enter the draft. Carey reshaped his body while preparing for the draft, dropping his weight to 240-250 pounds in an effort to better fit NBA offenses, which don’t rely on a back-to-the-basket defender.
Early mock drafts had Carey going in the teens or early 20s of the first round, but he slid on draft boards as the day approached and was mocked at No. 30, the last pick of the first round, in SI’s final mock draft.
Carey joins point guard LaMelo Ball, who was taken with the third overall pick, in Charlotte’s 2020 draft class.
This is the first time Duke has not had a player chosen in the lottery since 2013 and the first time the Blue Devils have not had a first rounder since 2010. Elliot Williams, who transferred from Duke, was selected in 2010. The last time no one with any Duke playing experience was taken in the first round was the 2008 draft.
Carey is the first Blue Devil taken in the second round since Gary Trent Jr. in 2018 and the first Blue Devil taken by Charlotte since the then Charlotte Bobcats took Gerald Henderson 12th overall in the 2009 draft.
