Wendell Carter Jr.’s mother made headlines recently with some controversial comments criticizing college basketball, Duke and its Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski.
But there was at least one thing about which she was spot on.
Much of what her son accomplished with the Blue Devils went unnoticed by fans and the media because of the presence of fellow one-and-done big man Marvin Bagley III, who went on to become the second player selected in last month’s NBA draft.
Carter ended up going No. 7 overall to the Chicago Bulls.
Now free of Bagley’s shadow and able shine on his own, especially now that Bagley is out with a minor injury, the 6-foot-10 forward has stepped into the spotlight with a standout performance in the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League.
Carter is averaging 17.3 points and 7.8 rebounds in his first four games as a professional. He had his best effort of the two-week tournament on Wednesday with 19 points on 9 of 11 shooting, to go with nine rebounds and two assists in the Bulls’ 95-83 victory against the Dallas Mavericks.
The win advances Chicago into the second round of the Vegas event’s championship bracket. The Clippers, Cavaliers, Rockets, Hawks, Pistons, Raptors and Hornets were also winners on Wednesday.
Top individual performances among players with North Carolina ties were turned in by Wake Forest’s Codi Miller-McIntyre, Duke’s Amile Jefferson, UNC’s Justin Jackson and Theo Pinson, and Raleigh native Jerome Robinson.
Miller-McIntyre continued his bid to make Toronto’s roster after a successful season in Russia by handing out 11 assists to go along with five rebounds in his team’s 85-77 win against Denver. The 6-foot-3 point guard is averaging 7.0 assists per game for the tournament, the second-highest total among the 30 teams participating.
Jefferson, who played all last season for the Minnesota Timberwolves G-League affiliate in Iowa, continued to be a rebound machine by pulling down 15 more in his team’s loss to Detroit. The former Blue Devil leads the Summer League at 13.5 boards per game.
Jackson continued his scoring binge for the Sacramento Kings with 20 points in a loss to Cleveland. The 2016 ACC Player of the Year has scored 20 or more in three of his four games in Vegas. His former Tar Heel teammate Pinson, meanwhile, did what he does best by stuffing his stat line with 14 points, four rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots while Robinson, who played in college ball at Boston College, had 15 points to lead the Clippers to their win against Washington.
Other performances of note were turned in by Campbell’s Eric Griffin with 10 points and seven rebounds in the Pistons’ win against Minnesota and UNC’s J.P. Tokoto, who posted seven points, 10 rebounds and two assists for the Golden State Warriors against the Hornets.
Charlotte earned that victory without recent draft pick and Raleigh native Devonte Graham of Kansas, who is sidelined with a knee injury. Wake Forest’s John Collins also didn’t play Wednesday, but the second-year Atlanta Hawks’ big man leads the Vegas Summer League in scoring at 24.0 points per game.
Play continues on Thursday with more opening round elimination games, with all televised on either an ESPN network or NBATV.
Here are the stats for all state players participating in the Vegas Summer League tourney, which runs through July 17:
John Collins, Wake Forest (Hawks): 2 games, 24.0 ppg, 20-42 FG, 5-10 3PT, 3-9 FT, 8.5 rpg
Justin Jackson, UNC (Kings): 4 G, 19.0 ppg, 28-67 FG, 8-28 3PT, 12-14 FT, 3.8 rpg, 1.0 spg
Wendell Carter Jr., Duke (Bulls): 4 G, 16.8 ppg, 26-41 FG, 3-6 3PT, 12-15 FT, 7.8 rpg, 3.0 bpg
Grayson Allen, Duke (Jazz): 2 G, 16.5 ppg, 13-34 FG, 3-12 3PT, 4-4 FT, 6.5 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.5 spg
Tony Bradley, UNC (Jazz): 2 G, 16.0 ppg, 13-15 FG, 6-6 FT, 3.5 rpg
Marvin Bagley III, Duke (Kings): 1 G, 15.0 ppg, 5-13 FG, 0-2 3PT, 5-7 FT, 7.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
Gary Trent Jr., Duke (Trailblazers): 3 G, 14.7 ppg, 13-36 FG, 5-13 3PT, 13-13 FT, 2.7 rpg, 1.0 apg
Jerome Robinson, Raleigh/BC (Clippers): 3 G, 13.7 ppg, 16-36 FG, 7-19 3PT, 2-2 FT, 2.7 rpg, 1.7 apg
Frank Jackson, Duke (Pelicans): 1 G, 13.0 ppg, 4-7 FG, 0-1 3PT, 5-5 FT, 6.0 rpg, 1.0 apg
Dennis Smith Jr., NC State (Mavs): 2 G, 12.0 ppg, 9-24 FG, 2-13 3PT, 4-4, 2.0 rpg, 6.0 apg
Theo Pinson, UNC (Nets) 4 G, 11.0 ppg, 14-30 FG, 8-19 3PT, 7-7 FT, 4.8 rpg, 2.3 apg
Harry Giles, Duke (Kings): 4 G, 10.8 ppg, 20-48 FG, 0-2 3PT, 3-6 FT, 7.0 rpg, 1.7 spg. 1.5 apg
Trevon Duval, Duke (Rockets): 4 G, 10.5 ppg, 12-33 FG, 8-12 3PT, 10-15 FT, 1.8 rpg, 2.0 apg
Devonte Graham, Raleigh/Kansas (Hornets): 3 G, 10.0 ppg, 11-30 FG, 0-12 3PT, 8-8 FT, 2.7 rpg, 6.0 apg
Amile Jefferson, Duke (T-wolves): 4 G, 9.5 ppg, 17-36 FG, 4-11 FT, 13.5 rpg, 1.8 bpg
Matt Jones, Duke (Kings): 3 G, 8.3 ppg, 9-20 FG, 3-9 3PT, 4-8 FT, 2.3 rpg, 1.0 spg
Isaiah Hicks, UNC (Knicks): 1 G, 8.0 ppg, 4-5 FG, 0-1 3PT, 0-2 FT, 2.0 rpg, 3.0 bpg
Codi Miller-McIntyre, Wake (Raptors): 4 G, 7.3 ppg, 12-28 FG, 2-7 3PT, 3-4 FT, 3.5 rpg, 7.0 apg
J.P. Tokoto, UNC (Warriors): 4 G, 7.3 ppg, 11-23 FG, 0-3 3PT, 7-8 FT, 4.0 rpg, 2.3 apg
Eric Griffin, Campbell (Pistons): 4 G, 6.3 ppg, 9-13 FG, 1-2 3PT, 6-9 FG, 3.8 rpg
Gabe DeVoe, Shelby/Clemson (Hornets): 3 G, 6.0 ppg, 6-16 FG, 5-9 3PT, 1-1 FT, 1.0 rpg
Kennedy Meeks, UNC (Nuggets): 4 G, 4.8 ppg, 9-25, 0-1 3PT, FG, 1-2 FT, 4.3 rpg
Terry Henderson, NC State (Hornets): 3 G, 2.3 ppg, 2-8 FG, 1-4 3PT, 2-2 FT, 1.3 rpg
Bryant Crawford, Wake (Nets): 3 G, 1.0 ppg, 1-8 FG, 1-4 3PT, 2.3 rpg, 1.0 apg
Doral Moore, Wake (Wizards): 4 G, 1.0 ppg, 2-2 FG, 1.3 bpg
Rodney Purvis, Raleigh/UConn (Magic): 2 G, 1.0 ppg, 0-11 FG, 0-4 3PT, 3-4 FT, 2.0 rpg
