One Duke Basketball Starter Opts to Run It Back Yet Again

Duke basketball is reportedly set to return a key weapon for Jon Scheyer's third season at the helm in Durham.

Duke basketball guard Tyrese Proctor / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Just two days after the news that Duke basketball starter Mark Mitchell was hitting the transfer portal, it seems that a different Blue Devil starter has decided to stick around for another year in Durham.

On Thursday evening, national college hoops insider Adam Zagoria reported that sophomore guard Tyrese Proctor would be returning to Duke for his junior season.

Proctor’s reported return is a massive positive for the Blue Devils. The 6-foot-5 guard, a co-captain alongside senior guard Jeremy Roach and graduate center Ryan Young this past season, will play the role of an experienced leader as he orchestrates the offense, presumably as the primary floor general again, and helps guide Duke’s incoming six-deep recruiting class.

The 20-year-old Australian playmaker originally reclassified to play his freshman year during the 2022-23 season, with this past year serving as what should have been his original opening collegiate campaign.

Despite battling an ankle injury that kept him out of commission for most of December, Proctor made productive strides in his offensive game while continuing in his role as Duke’s premier on-ball defender. The Sydney native averaged 10.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game as a sophomore while shooting 42.3 percent from the field and 35.2 percent beyond the arc.

3 triples from Rese tonight 👌👌👌pic.twitter.com/aufDKfIA5k

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 23, 2024

As Duke’s top facilitator, Tyrese Proctor should be in a position to flourish next season with the arrival of a litany of lob threats in the Blue Devils’ top-ranked freshman class. 

While he's the first Blue Devil to announce a return, third-year head coach Jon Scheyer and his staff have already lost two scholarship players to the transfer portal in sophomores Christian Reeves and Mark Mitchell. Duke basketball fans still await key decisions from players such as Jeremy Roach, Kyle Filipowski, and Jared McCain.

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If the Blue Devils are going to take even more successful strides next season, Proctor’s play as a junior leader will be instrumental.

Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country on SI for more Duke basketball news.