Luke Kennard To Detroit As The No. 12 Pick In The 2017 NBA Draft
Luke Kennard who spent two seasons at Duke had a sensational sophomore campaign under Mike Krzyzewski last season.
Luke Kennard was taken in the first round of this year's draft by the Detroit Pistons. Luke Kennard, a consensus second-team All-American, led Duke in scoring with an average of 19.5 points per game while shooting .489 from the floor, .438 from outside the arc and .856 from the free throw line. His 722 total points on the year represented the 16th-best single-season total in program history, while his .438 three-point percentage ranked 10th on Duke's single-season chart. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211634691&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Luke's skill set is a perfect fit for the modern NBA game and I'm excited to watch his promising career with the Detroit Pistons get underway,” Krzyzewski said. “Luke is a team-first young man who should immediately be an asset to the Pistons. With his size and ability to score at all three levels, his best basketball is still ahead of him.” "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211634691&DB_OEM_ID=4200
The Franklin, Ohio, native scored in double figures in 35 of Duke's 37 games on the season, eclipsing the 20-point mark a team-high 19 times. He ranked second in the ACC in scoring and three-point field goal percentage, fourth in free throw percentage, seventh in three-pointers per game (2.38) and eighth in field goal percentage while averaging the third-most minutes per game (35.5) in the conference. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211634691&DB_OEM_ID=4200
He made at least one three-point field goal in 40 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in Duke history and the 10th-longest stretch in ACC history. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211634691&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Luke Kennard eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career on Feb. 25 at Miami, becoming just the 12th Duke player (and fifth under Coach K) to hit that milestone prior to the end of his second season. His 1,147 career points were the fourth-most in Duke history by a player in his first two seasons, trailing only Jason Williams (1,333), Art Heyman (1,237) and Johnny Dawkins (1,165). "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211634691&DB_OEM_ID=4200
For his career, Kennard averaged 15.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 31.2 minutes. He was a career .461 shooter from the floor and .383 from three-point range. Kennard's .867 career free throw percentage is the second-best in Duke history (min. 200 FTs made). "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211634691&DB_OEM_ID=4200
He scored at least 20 points in 35.6 percent (26-of-73) of his games in a Duke uniform. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211634691&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Kennard was the only unanimous choice for first-team All-ACC honors in 2017 and was also a first-team NABC All-District 2 member and an All-District III selection by the USBWA. He was named a member of the John R. Wooden Award All-America Team and a final five candidate for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211634691&DB_OEM_ID=4200
Kennard was selected MVP of the ACC Tournament after averaging 20.0 points and 5.3 rebounds to help Duke become the first team in league history to win four games in as many days to claim the ACC championship. "according to http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211634691&DB_OEM_ID=4200
How will Luke Kennard do in his first season in the league with Detroit under his new head coach Stan Van Gundy? Will he have as great a rookie campaign with Detroit as he did in his sophomore season at Duke? Will Luke Kennard average the same amount of points as he did in his sophomore season at Duke in his first year with Detroit?