Report: Trevor Keels to stay in 2022 NBA Draft, leave Duke

The decision is in for Trevor Keels. His days in a Duke uniform are over.

Keels intends to keep his name in the 2022 NBA Draft and forgo his remaining eligibility, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. The decision came down to the wire — just a couple hours before the deadline to withdraw with college eligibility — but he’s heading to the professional level.

Keels came up as a borderline first-round talent shortly after the NBA Draft lottery. He ranked third on the Blue Devils in scoring in 2021-22 while also leading the Blue Devils with 4.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game in 2021-22. That shows his upside, and it could be attractive for teams looking to add some role players.

In his most recent mock draft, Givony projected Keels to go No. 26 overall to the Dallas Mavericks. He joins Paolo Banchero, Mark Williams, AJ Griffin and Wendell Moore Jr. as former Blue Devils stars who hope to hear their names called June 23.

As a recruit from the class of 2021, Trevor Keels was a four-star prospect and the No. 22 prospect in the nation, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Report: Duke, Houston ‘in play’ for Texas transfer Courtney Ramey

With Keels heading to the NBA, Duke and Jon Scheyer could turn to transfer Courtney Ramey as a potential replacement.

Ramey made the decision to withdraw from the 2022 NBA Draft earlier Wednesday, but remains in the transfer portal. Now, frontrunners are starting to emerge.

Duke and Houston are among the teams in the running for Ramey, who’s transferring from Texas, according to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. Ramey entered the portal the same day he declared for the draft, leaving all his options open as he contemplated his future.

Goodman also clarified that Duke and Houston aren’t the only teams vying for Ramey in the portal. He’s also hearing from Louisville and Arizona, among others.

Ramey wrapped up his fourth season with the Longhorns in 2021-22, averaging 9.4 points per game in all 34 games, including 32 starts. Over his four years, he started 106 of 128 career games.

Duke was also in the mix for Northern Iowa transfer AJ Green before he announced he was staying in the draft, meaning a big fish is off the board.

Houston also got an important decision from top scorer Marcus Sasser. He’s returning to school and withdrawing from the draft. Sasser averaged 17.7 points per game for the Cougars this year and tested the draft after the big season for Kelvin Sampson’s group.