Jalen Johnson Opts Out of the Remainder of the Blue Devils Season
The freshman small forward opts out to prepare for the draft.
Jalen Johnson has his eyes set on one thing and one thing only, the lottery. The freshman small forward is a projected top pick in the upcoming NBA draft and after a foot injury compounded by limited playing time, he is opting to not finish the season and prepare for the draft.
In Johnsons first game and the Blue Devils season opener vs Coppin State, the freshman dropped 19 points, grabbed 19 boards, and had 5 assists. A few weeks after his dominant performance, he suffered a foot injury which held him out for three games. Once Johnson returned, he began coming off the bench and in the last two contents only played 23 minutes.
He released a statement tonight saying,"I appreciate everything about my time at Duke,". He would go onto thank Coach K, his teammates, and the whole Blue Devil program for being supportive through his injury but, believes that opting out is his best option to be 100% healthy and prepared once the draft rolls around.
Through Johnsons 13 games, he averaged 11.2 points, 6.1 boards and 2.2 assists. Johnson has not played a full season of basketball since his junior year of high school. His senior season, he left IMG Academy before even playing a game and ended up transferring and playing in nine games at Nicolet High School in Glendale, Wisconsin.