WATCH: Paolo Banchero talks about how Coach K, Duke basketball prepared him for NBA
Former Duke Blue Devil star Paolo Banchero has been one of the most celebrated prospects at every level of basketball he’s played on. Coming out of high school he was one of the nation’s elite prospects and his five-star pedigree carried over to the 2022 NBA Draft, where he was selected No. 1 overall by the Orlando Magic on Thursday night. On Saturday night, Duke basketball released a video of Banchero discussing how much the program and Coach K helped prepare him for the next level.
“They really, really prepared me as best as anyone could,” Banchero said. “I was a good player when I came in. But…I think they really took me to another level and helped transform me as a player. They helped me with a lot of things. Helped me improve my game in a lot of ways. And Coach K especially, on and off the court. He’s a great, great advice giver, great leader. And he’s the greatest of all-time….Every day he was giving us new gems, new pieces of advice that we could take on forever. So I thank him. I thank Duke. I’m always gonna be a part of the brotherhood and the Duke basketball family.”
When Banchero declared for the 2022 NBA Draft after just one year at Duke, it was clear he would be a top-five overall selection.
The 6-foot-10, 250-pound, Seattle native played and started 39 games for the Blue Devils as a freshman. He scored 17.2 points per game in 33 minutes with a 47.8% hit rate from the field. Posting 7.8 boards per game, Banchero was just a couple of rebounds shy of averaging a double-double, which he notched on 12 occasions.
Banchero helped guide the Duke Blue Devils to the Final Four this season, where they fell to the North Carolina Tar Heels in a classic, 81-77.
What the scouts are saying about Paolo Banchero
“Banchero’s background was first as a guard before it was as a dual-threat power forward,” CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone wrote ahead of the draft. “He carried those lessons throughout high school and into college, making him one of the better passers at his position in recent memory. When he grabs a board, he can run the break and go coast-to-coast like he’s 6-foot-4.
“Shooting it from deep and defending at a high level are the only two things keeping him from becoming the consensus top prospect. He can knock down 3-pointers, but he made just 33.8% of them at Duke. He can defend and hold up physically, but switching onto the perimeter and maintaining effort and focus was hit or miss at times in college.”
On3’s Nikki Chavanelle also contributed to this article.