The first pick in the 2022 NBA Draft – Paolo Banchero – is off to a hot start in his NBA career following a Final Four appearance in his lone year at Duke University.
At Duke, Banchero averaged 17.2 points per game on 47.8% shooting from the floor, adding 7.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
Paolo Banchero of the Duke Blue Devils reacts against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal at Caesars Superdome on April 2, 2022, in New Orleans.
(Lance King/Getty Images)
He got the Blue Devils to within one game of the national championship, losing to North Carolina in the semifinals.
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But his year at college was not all roses, with Banchero saying on the “The Young Person Basketball Podcast with RJ Hampton” that it was hard to find privacy at Duke.
“Going to Duke, it was just something totally different,” Banchero said when discussing the difference between his experience in high school and in college. “You was a celebrity. They treated you like you was (sic) royalty there if you were on the basketball team.’
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‘It was almost like they treat you like – and I love Duke – but sometimes it felt like you were a zoo animal or something. In class, you’d see them over there whispering about you, staring at you. I done caught people trying to record me.”
Paolo Banchero of the Duke Blue Devils puts up a shot against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal on April 2, 2022, in New Orleans.
(Lance King/Getty Images)
Banchero went on to say that students living in his dormitory complex would bring their families to his dorm room to say hello.
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“Eventually people found out where I stayed… So, my classmates would start bringing their families – their brother, their sister their mom, and dad – to my dorm,” Banchero said. “And knocking on my door. It would be like a Sunday morning, bro, and I’d get like a knock… and I’d open my door, it’s a mom, dad, their daughter who goes to Duke, and they’re little brother. Like, ‘We just wanted to say hi.’”
Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic in action against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 24, 2022, in New York City.
(Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
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Banchero is averaging 24 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game through the first five games of the season for the Orlando Magic.
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