Vernon Carey’s been a beast in the middle for Duke. Now the Blue Devils need even more.
Around Duke’s basketball program, freshman center Vernon Carey, Jr., carries the nickname ‘Tank.’
It’s an apt nickname for his frame and his game.
The son of a former NFL offensive lineman, the 6-10 Carey arrived on campus from Miami weighing around 270 pounds before working his way down to his current playing weight of 255.
Carey’s size and strength helped him become one of college basketball’s top big men this season. He averages 17.8 points and 8.8 rebounds — No. 10 Duke’s leader in both categories — and was named the ACC’s Rookie of Year in addition to a first-team, all-conference player on Monday.
But though he carries a powerful body and presence on the court, Carey doesn’t possess an imposing personality.
At least — in a trait that’s common among the 40 percent of the population that identifies as introverted — not until he’s had time to size everyone up.
“Once you get closer to him, he opens up,” Duke redshirt senior team captain Justin Robinson said. “I guess at the beginning of the year he was more quiet. But as I’ve gotten closer to him he’s opened up a lot. So now, he’s a goof ball.”
Duke doesn’t need Carey’s personality to be big. It just needs his production to continue to be.
Carey’s time with the Blue Devils is no doubt coming to an end now that it’s March and ACC and NCAA tournaments are up next for Duke. He’s projected to be a first-round pick in the NBA Draft should he choose to leave school.
Before he’s done, he’s in position to help the Blue Devils achieve things on the court that leave a tangible legacy. Banners are hung in Cameron Indoor Stadium for ACC championships, Final Four appearances and NCAA titles.
Solid production from Carey, like his 25-point and 10-rebound game in last Saturday’s 89-76 win over North Carolina, will go a long way to earning Duke those banners.
His plan, verbalized in his typically understated fashion, is to keep on doing what he’s been doing on offense while firming up his defense.
“Just try and keep on scoring in the post, I feel like,” Carey said, “just taking my defense to another level just with me protecting our paint and defending the ball screens, I feel like.”
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski described Carey’s season as “fabulous” but, like any coach, he believes even better games are possible.
Carey has made 57.7 percent of his field goal attempts, including 59 percent of his 2-point attempts. As the season has progressed, opposing teams have doubled up on him when he gets the ball in the lane. He’s even seen some triple-teams.
His strength allows him to power through even in those situations. He’s drawn 7.9 fouls per 40 minutes this season, the third-best average of any player in the country. He’s made 67 percent of his free throws, allowing him to cash in most of the time on those opportunities.
But Krzyzewski sees a path toward even easier points for Carey, thanks to Duke point guard Tre Jones’ superior passing ability.
“I think it’s still if he would run the court more so he would beat the double-team, because Tre gets it down the court and I think we could get more from that,” Krzyzewski said. “For him, part of it is he always expects a lot of people around him, but when a shot goes up, can we get some offensive rebounds? Those are cheaper buckets — the running of the court and the offensive board. The offensive board, you’re usually one-on-one, and the early post is one-on-one, if we can get him into a few more of those situations.”
Looking at Carey’s offensive rebounding provides a glimpse into his usage and the possibility that Duke could get even more points and rebounds from him in the postseason.
Carey’s offensive rebounding percentage is 12 percent, according to KenPom.com. Any percentage above 10 percent is considered good. Carey is No. 90 nationally in the category. The only ACC player above him is Notre Dame’s John Mooney at 12.3 percent.
So Carey is effective there. But the formula is designed to show how many offensive rebounds he grabs among those available to him. His minutes played is a factor in the formula.
Carey has only played 24.8 minutes per game this season, meaning he’s played 61.1 percent of the minutes available. Other recent Duke centers have played more, including Wendell Carter (26.9 minutes per game in 2017-18), Jahlil Okafor (30.1 minutes in 2014-15) and Mason Plumlee (34.7 minutes in 2012-13).
Carter played 66.9 percent of the minutes available to him, Okafor 72.8 and Plumlee 86.7.
Duke associate head coach Nate James, who works with the interior players, said Carey is capable of playing a higher percentage of minutes. But he adds that big men aren’t expected to play 35 minutes a night like perimeter players.
Instead, Duke needs the depth behind Carey — seniors Javin DeLaurier, Jack White and, in recent games, Robinson — to play well so he can be stronger during his minutes.
“We need everyone in the game, Javin, Jack and now J-Rob, everyone pulling their load,” James said. “But when he is in the game, for however long he’s in there, he’s effective and we need him to continue to play at a high level.”
Yes, despite his relatively low number of minutes, Carey is incredibly efficient.
He’s one of 12 players nationally with 500 or more points, 200 or more rebounds, 40 or more blocked shots and 20 or more steals.
Carey is the only one of the 12 to compile those stats in fewer than 800 minutes played.
The 6-9 Robinson is the leader of Duke’s scout team in practice. That group runs in the opposing team’s plays on offense and defense, putting him head-to-head with Carey often. He’s seen the freshman improve dramatically and, like Duke’s coaches, sees even more production available.
“I’m excited for what he is becoming and what he can become in the future because he’s come so far this year,” Robinson said. “Seeing that every day in practice when we are competing against him. One move we can stop. But for him to learn a counter move, then there’s nothing you can do. Or for him to be able to take it up stronger the next time and go dunk on us instead of getting a shot blocked. Just all those little improvements that you see, they are very exciting. He has so much more room to grow. He’s so young. I think if he keeps growing like this, he’s going to be a great player.”
Part of his growth is complicated by his quiet nature. Because Carey tends to be quiet, his on-court communication remains a work in progress.
That’s not limited to talking with his teammates or coaches, James said.
“When you are quiet and you are not used to communicating, when you do finally do say something, typically, good or bad, people know you mean business,” James said. “I’ve tried to coach him up — you are getting hit. Guys do hold you and grab you. So you need to communicate to the referees in a respectful way early and say ‘Hey can you watch the elbow in the back or the knee?” Let them know prior to the frustration foul or an outburst.”
Carey will continue to be a focus of opposing teams when they game plan for Duke in the postseason. James sees him continuing to succeed because his focus is keen.
“They are just throwing everything at him,” James said. “They are trying to be physical with him. They are trying to double, triple him on the catch or the bounce. They are just switching things up to try to get him off his game. To his credit, he’s not allowed it to happen. If he starts out slow, he’s processing everything and he’s figuring out how to explode, how to attack. When he does, he still finishes if not with a double-double, close to one. He’s shown a lot of maturity by not losing it and getting frustrated and allowing the defense to take him out of the game.”
Soft-spoken when talking with reporters in the postgame locker room, Carey chooses to let the stat sheet do the talking for him.
Perhaps that goof ball side of Carey that Robinson said Duke’s players see will be on display if the Blue Devils have a national championship to celebrate at a Cameron Indoor Stadium ceremony next month.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 11:58 AM.