Top NBA pick's parents rip 'shady' Duke: 'I felt like we were lied to'
Wendell Carter Jr. was the seventh pick of the 2018 NBA Draft after making the All-ACC second team in his one season at Duke.
But according to his mother, Carter could have been an even higher draft pick had he been given the chance to show off his full capabilities with the Blue Devils.
Kylia Carter believes both she and her son were lied to about Carter’s role with the team when he committed to Duke. Specifically, she believes that Marvin Bagley III’s presence stunted her son’s development, and production, after he re-classified into the Class of 2017.
“My initial reaction, I was pissed. And it wasn’t pissed because Marvin was coming. To be honest, I felt like that was information that was kept from us,” Kylia Carter told NBC Sports. “It felt (shady), it felt like my baby was gonna get kicked to the curb. I felt like all of that.”
Carter committed to Duke in November 2016 and was expected to be the prized recruit for coach Mike Krzyzewski’s freshman class. But Bagley announced he would enroll at Duke in August 2017, and as the No. 1 overall prospect by many scouting services, he then became the headliner.
“We have not had our conversation (with Coach K) but we will. We almost went there with him when we did our exit interview,” Kylia Carter said. “But he’ll come around to a Bulls game and I’ll get the chance.”
Duke’s offense became centered around Bagley who was named ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Player of the Year.
Carter finished fourth on Duke in scoring as he concentrated more on defense, to the chagrin of his mother.
“Everybody knows you can score. So let Marvin have all the damn points,” she said. “They’re throwing him the ball, the offense is geared around him. Why are you beating your head against the wall?
“Defense is not the strong suit of this team. Fill that void.”
Carter filled that void for the Blue Devils as he finished in the top five in both rebounds per game and blocks per game in the conference.
But defense isn’t as sexy when it comes to the NBA draft and Bagley’s offensive-oriented game was drafted second overall while Carter’s defense-first game went seventh.
Per Forbes, the difference in the rookie contracts between the No. 2 pick and the No. 7 pick is an estimated $14 million.
She may not be the next LaVar Ball, but Kylia Carter is becoming nearly as famous as her son due to her quotes. Last month she compared the NCAA system to slavery and the prison system due to the way that student-athletes do most of the work, yet others receive all of the compensation.
For his part, Wendell Carter is a bit more diplomatic about his time at Duke and is saying all of the right things to not throw his former teammate or coach under the bus.
“People think I took a backseat to Marvin. I don’t think that’s the right terminology. It’s just that I sacrificed,” Carter Jr. said. “People think I bowed down to him or allowed him to take the leadership role. But in my opinion I did what I had to in order to win.”
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