“He Looked Like a Freshman”: Analysts Bash Duke Star Tyrese Proctor Amidst Comeback Promises

Published 11/11/2023, 10:38 PM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

Tyrese Proctor became the hot topic of discussion after the Blue Devils took a strong hit from Arizona’s Wildcats on Duke’s homecourt. This matchup between two best-of-the-best teams in college basketball created a lot of excitement among the fans. Some simply chewed their nails seeing the #12 Arizona Wildcats pulling off a 78-73 win over the #2 Duke’s Blue Devils.

Clearly, Duke ran into a team that was tougher and more physical, as they lost the game on their home court, the Cameron Indoor Stadium. However, there was a lot of scrutiny prevailing when analysts revisited the game with a fine-tooth comb.

Tyrese Proctor’s comeback turned failure

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Sports analysts Jeff Goodman, Rob Dauster and Randolph Childress engaged in a postgame discussion and shared different perspectives. Looking at Proctor’s performance in the game, Jeff Goodman said, “It was a no-show game for Tyrese Proctor. He looked like a freshman, he played like one.”

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Analyst Rob Dauster expressed that the game highlighted Arizona’s toughness rather than Proctor’s poor gameplay. However, he made some observations of his own: “He got a pretty serious wake-up call in terms of what he needs to be in order to play at this level. We all kind of assumed was like he was going in the off-season. Tyrese Proctor is going to hit in the weight room, he is going to pack on a couple of pounds, he is going to hit the squat rack, he is going to hit the bench and he is going to be able to handle it better as a sophomore, and he didn’t really do that.”

This defeat turned into a big letdown because there were huge expectations from Proctor since he posted a video announcing his comeback for this season. The video also featured Coach Sheyer’s views, “He’s done a great job of just running the team. He just makes it easy, I think that’s the biggest thing he does… He’s in control of the team.”

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“Proctor didn’t try to make anything”

Last season, Duke took an early second-round exit from the NCAA championship run. This gave Proctor the motivation to do better. Like everyone else, he came to Duke with a goal of winning a national championship. Also, to prove a lot more on the court as a point guard and as a leader. However, he failed in his attempt to make an impact for the Devils in their latest match.

Assessing Proctor’s performance Randolph Childress, a former NBA player said, “He can’t be on people’s all-American list if he’s not going to step up right at home, he’s got to be more aggressive. He spent way too much time on perimeter, just kind of it’s almost like he is a quarterback. He didn’t try to make anything, he just came off, he just reversed the ball, he swung the ball. And we’re talking about a guy who’s a first-round draft pick who we’re saying who’s a first-team All-American.”

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What are your thoughts on Tyrese’s performance and Duke’s loss to the Wildcats? Tell us in the comments.

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Written by:

Dimple Gupta

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Dimple is an NBA content writer at EssentiallySports. She has always been a sports-oriented person, and grew up with a strong interest towards basketball. More than playing, it's also about understanding the sport as a whole.
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Edited by:

Bilal Handoo