2022 NBA Draft: New York Knicks select Trevor Keels, Duke shooting guard

Duke shooting guard Trevor Keels is off the board in the 2022 NBA Draft. With the No. 42 pick in the second round, Keels was selected by the New York Knicks.

A four-star recruit in the Class of 2021, Trevor Keels is moving on from Duke and to the NBA after one season. That one season at Duke was also Mike Krzyzewski’s last. Keels and his Duke teammates did their best to make Coach K’s final season a championship season, but they fell short in their final home game to North Carolina, the ACC Championship Game against Virginia Tech, and the Final Four to the Tar Heels again.

Trevor Keels proved himself as an offensive weapon, scoring better than 20 points in multiple games during the 2021-22 season. His highest scoring output came against Pitt when Keels had 27 points. He was also on the ACC All-Rookie Team.

In his one season at Duke, Trevor Keels averaged 11.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. He also shot 41.9% from the field and 31.2% from three-point range.

There was some debate as to where Trevor Keels should be drafted. However, most people expected him to be taken in the early second round. ESPN mocked him as the 32nd overall pick.

“He likes to use his muscular advantage, too,” Noah Levick of NBC Sports wrote. “At a fundamental level, Keels excels at both inviting and shrugging off contact. And on top of that, Keels appeared to recognize he could often leverage his strength to create more time and more favorable angles for himself.”

“Keels didn’t fare well on the combine’s athletic testing…Keels is very right-hand dominant and sometimes even attempted awkward righty finishes when a lefty layup would’ve done the job.”

How Trevor Keels fairs in the NBA remains to be seen. He has plenty of potential. Still, there are going to be questions about his athleticism that follow his early career.