LOOK: Paolo Banchero shares full circle tournament moment
Duke Blue Devils power forward Paolo Banchero is expected to be a lottery pick in the upcoming 2022 NBA Draft. He’s a critical piece on a roster loaded with NBA prospects. Five Blue Devils are expected to be selected in the first round of the upcoming draft. Duke is the No. 2 seed in the West Region and will face off against No. 15 seed Cal State Fullerton Titans in the first round. Yesterday, Banchero’s post on Twitter let everyone know how excited he is for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
While the Blue Devils were stunned in the ACC Tournament Championship game by the Virginia Tech Hokies, their team still has plenty of talent and they’ll look to regain the elite form we saw from them for most of the regular season. On Nov. 26, the Blue Devils beat Gonzaga 84-81, a team that’s expected by many as the favorite to win the 2022 NCAA Tournament crown. Unfortunately for Duke, they’ve got a potential rematch with Chet Holmgren and the Zags in the Elite Eight, if both teams make it that far.
Coming out of high school, Banchero was one of the highest rated prospects in the country, earning a five-star ranking according to the On3 Consensus Rankings for the 2021 recruiting class. He was rated as the No. 3 overall prospect in America, according to those rankings, and for the most part, he’s played like it for much of the 2021-2022 season.
Virginia’s Jayden Gardner gave Banchero problems in Durham, limiting him to a season-low nine points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field. The Cavaliers’ defense also caused him to turn the ball over four times in their 69-68 upset victory. In Charlottesville against Virginia (Feb. 23), the former five-star once again struggled against Gardner and the Cavaliers’ pack-line defense, posting another season-low of eight points. He only connected on 2-of-13 shots from the field and also had three turnovers in that game.
Banchero also performed at a high level during a few of the Blue Devils’ most high-profile games for the 2021-2022 regular season. He pumped in 22 points against Kentucky on Nov. 19. The Blue Devils won that contest 79-71. He also poured in 21 points against Gonzaga on Nov. 26.
The key for Duke will be preventing quick guards from penetrating into the painted area and facilitating easy buckets for their team. Virginia Tech’s Storm Murphy and Virginia’s Kihei Clark, in particular, gave the Blue Devils tons of problems in their losses to both squads.
It will be exciting to see how Banchero and the Blue Devils fare in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Tip-off for the first-round matchup between Duke and Cal-State Fullerton is set for Friday at 7:10 PM EST. The game will be nationally televised on CBS.