Five-star Australian point guard Tyrese Proctor has committed to Duke’s 2023 class, he announced on Thursday. He chose the Blue Devils over offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Proctor, who stands at 193cm and 77kg and is currently a part of the NBA Global Academy based in Canberra. The Global Academy is run by former Saint Mary’s assistant coach, Marty Clarke and has seen a host of Australian prospects including the likes of Dyson Daniels, Mojave King and Josh Giddey all develop their games in the program.
1000% COMMITTED ? pic.twitter.com/D1xKcp664A
— Tyrese Proctor ??♂️ (@TyreseProctor) April 7, 2022
Proctor’s decision to play at Duke seems to have been an easy one. The school offered Proctor a scholarship in January, he officially visited in February and his decision seems to have been made up then and there.
He even gave fans an indication he was keen to play in Durhan when he gave this interview during his visit to the school.
“Those Crazies were something else. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was a wild atmosphere and it was really cool to be a part of. I felt like I had a good connection to the staff and the people there. The system that they have there is really elite and I really enjoyed that visit too. The whole experience was pretty cool, you know meeting Coach K. Not many people get to do that and especially talk to him on a deeper level.” said Proctor.
Proctor had also been considering offers from Arizona (who also tried to recruit King and Giddey), UC Santa Barbara, Saint Mary’s, Charlotte, Tennessee, Louisville and Oklahoma as well as the G League Ignite and NBL Rising Stars program.
Duke fans, here’s what you’re getting in Tyrese Proctor (@TyreseProctor) ?? pic.twitter.com/exLtQvPJUf
— Wilko (@wilkomcv) April 7, 2022
Proctor will join a team now led by former Duke assistant Jon Scheyer, who officially took over from legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who retired after the Blue Devils’ Final Four loss to UNC last weekend. He becomes the fourth commit for the 2023 class, joining five-star point guard Caleb Foster, five-star guard Jared McCain and four-star power forward Sean Stewart. Duke’s 2023 class currently ranks No. 1 nationally, according to 247Sports.
He is a great spot-up shooter, when his feet are set, and he gets a clean look, you can count it. A high basketball IQ and skilled passer who possesses the ability to distribute the ball to, and from, all angles of the court.
Though previously unranked as an international prospect, Proctor is certainly one of the top players in his class and figures to make an impact the moment he takes the floor. The combo guard, who has shown an innate ability to score isolation buckets has seen his ability to create space and separation compared to NBA greats like Allen Iverson, Trae Young and De’Aaron Fox.
Proctor will become only the second Australian to play for the Duke Blue Devils, the other being current Melbourne United forward Jack White.
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
