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Wendell Carter Jr sat stoically at the podium on Monday, being introduced with Chandler Hutchison as the first-round pick of the Chicago Bulls at the Advocate Center, adding more talent to a growing number of young people in a much hopeful reconstruction will take a considerable step this fall.
His cool behavior should not be interpreted as an affront, Carter Jr. seems to keep a calm face in new situations as a result of new challenges.
It was probably the same controlled expression that he displayed a year ago when, like many, he saw his future teammate Marvin Bagley III reclassify to become eligible for next season and choose Duke as his stop before hit the NBA.
"Humanly, you did not want that to happen," said Carter Jr. shortly after spending the battery of media interviews after his introduction.
In an instant, Carter Jr. has gone from a point of contact for Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski to an afterthought, future shoo – in as a first – rate choice at the risk of a sudden death. to be lost in the shadow of a more announced teammate.
Carter Jr. remained calm, true to his roots despite being a "spoiled" child, by his admission. His mother Kylie, a former college basketball player who, along with her father Wendell Sr., was guiding her child's footsteps, did not know whether it was a roadblock or a roadblock. a blessing in disguise.
"My initial reaction, I was pissed off, and it was not pissed off because Marvin was coming in … To be honest, I had the impression that it was from there. Information that had been hidden from us, "said Kylie Carter. "I felt (in the shade), I had the impression that my baby was going to be hit on the sidewalk.
Although it took Kylie time to recover, Wendell Sr. was more pragmatic. It is there that we find the balance of the Carter family.
"I tell people that people are making promises that they can not stand, that has not bothered me," Wendell Sr. said. "I was worried because I was not happy. had the impression that we were being lied to "Oh, Wendell is going to be the man" and then the carpet was ripped off to us. "
The father had a simple solution for his son: "Go play ball."
Wendell Jr's path has been carefully cultivated and nurtured by her parents, who will move from Atlanta to Chicago to help her transition to NBA life. His adaptation to Duke's unforeseen circumstances was not unlike his adaptation to high school, where he was enrolled at the Pace Academy in Buckhead, northeast of Atlanta.
Pace Academy has been recognized as one of the top private schools in the country, and the Carters have chosen it because of its stimulating study program, among other reasons.
Carter's father said that he did not even know who the basketball coach was, and Carter Jr. was already ranked nationally, making it an unorthodox move on his face.
"It made a huge difference," Sr. Carter said. "He was surrounded by people, these people were rich, not rich, but rich."
Making Wendell Jr. develop comfort while being uncomfortable was a lesson he learned early and he excelled academically and athletically, weighing a Harvard scholarship offer before deciding on Duke.
"We will drop him off at school, the other cars will stop at Ferrari," said Carter Sr. "These people have money, money, when they l & # 39; 39, saw, they treated it as if it was nothing special, which helped a lot.
"He was another student, he felt that he was able to grow, no one was pulling on him."
At Pace, he discovered that he could easily stand out as well as he could blend into a diverse environment.
At Duke, he was ready to flourish on his own, it is true that it was not the easiest fit, although it was embedded in his behavioral DNA. The practices where Bagley and Carter Jr. clashed were probably harder than the first games.
"We were definitely going together," said Carter Jr. "Hard, very hard, but only to improve others, it was not 'I do not like you, I hate you here, so I'm going to your neck. We both wanted to get better. "
On the floor, however, he did not behave like a future lottery choice. Wendell Jr. awarded the "freshman 15" books that he added before being in better shape.
"At first, when you watched Wendell's games, he was engaged, but we could say that something was not very good," Kylie Carter said. "(He) did not look at everything, you do not seem to give everything, you were there, but you were not there really."
A return trip to Atlanta for a few game visit in the season has put him back on track, embracing the minutiae and intangibles that have helped Duke to become a favorite run in March Madness.
"He told us that it bothered him at first, but he said I had to make it work," Kylia Carter said. "You're going to do everything you already know how to do, and you're going to do it on an extreme level, anything but mark, do anything to help."
"Everyone knows you can score, so let Marvin have all the fucking points, they throw the ball at him, the attack is organized around him, why are you fighting your head against him?" Wall."
She pauses to choose her words carefully, paraphrasing her advice to her son.
"The defense is not the strong point of this team, fill this gap."
The early start never dropped Carter Jr.'s project boards, firmly planted in the top 10 all season as a constant complement to Bagley, an appearance that seemed to be the biggest compliment to his maturing game.
The blessing was not suddenly disguised, Kylie saying facetiously "thank you, Coach K".
"As games became more difficult, her game improved," she said. "Because these things they needed in these difficult things were things that he was so comfortable with, they needed rebounds, rim protection, they needed bulletproof. "
Several times over the past few days, John Paxson, Gar Forman, and head coach Fred Hoiberg have mentioned Carter Jr.'s character and have taken note of the verticality that he has used to block several shots. last season.
Without knowing it, they praised the teachings of Mom, honed since his days of play.
"It's still basketball, always X and O. The same rules, it's just that the players are different," Kylia said. "We all know the X's and the O's. That's what we know about women."
As for the strikes, it comes from Kylia's athletic gifts as a volleyball player.
"We played volleyball, that's how we learned verticality, it's volleyball," she said before demonstrating. You go straight up, both hands straight, if you go straight, you will not be called to a fault, it will support, will be tempted, all this is temptation and anticipation.
The temptation to order more of Duke 's attack when there were so many draft picks in the first round will install as the anticipation of arriving at the NBA gets closer to more. more.
"People think I've taken a step back to Marvin, I do not think it's the right terminology, it's just that I've sacrificed," Wendell Jr. said. "The people think I bowed to him or allowed him to take the lead role, but in my opinion, I did what it took to win. "
The incoming rookie said that he had not learned much about himself in the process, and his averages per game of 13.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks showed that he was not in the process. was not a lot of hindsight in his game for anyone, let alone a teammate.
The intangibles have long been considered a reason why many believe that he can be a good frontcourt sidekick for Lauri Markkanen, the second-year striker of the Bulls.
"I think it was positive," said Carter Jr. "I'm in a situation where I'm going to play again with other great players."
As for the blessing in disguise, Kylie Carter has not yet given Krzyzewski his true feelings from promises that have not been kept. But it happens.
"We did not have our conversation but we will, we almost went there when we did our exit interview," she said. "But he'll come to a Bulls game and I'll have the opportunity."
Like the Bulls, Mom lets him build.
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