Vernon Carey

Vernon A. Carey Jr. was born February 25, 2001 in Miami, Florida. He is the son of Latavia and Vernon Carey. His father, Vernon, played professional football as an offensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins from 2004 to 2011. Vernon Jr's late grandfather, Vincent Carey, played college basketball at Oral Roberts University. Vernon Jr. has a brother and two sisters. Carey played his high school basketball at NSU University School in Fort Lauderdale, where he started for all four seasons. As a freshman he averaged 18 points, seven rebounds and two blocks a game. He improved those figures his sophomore year when he led NSU to a district state championship. As a junior, he led NSU to a 36-2 record and the Florida 5A state championship. He announced on ESPN SportsCenter in 2018 that he was attending Duke for college ball. Carey was a Blue Devil for one season, 2019-20, where he earned consensus Second-Team All-American honors before declaring for the 2020 NBA Draft. Fans can follow the big center on Twitter @vernoncarey22. Carey entered his first and only season at Duke with massive shoes to fill, taking over for previous one-and-done center Zion Williamson. He ended up starting 30 of 31 games for the Blue Devils, reaching double-digit scoring in all but two of them. His career high came early in the year, as Carey dropped 31 points in a blowout win over Cal on Nov. 21. That game came within a streak of seven consecutive double-doubles (he ended up with 15 on the year). By the end of the season, Carey led the ACC in field-goal percentage (.577) and free-throw attempts (218), in addition to finishing second in the conference in total rebounds (189). He took home ACC Rookie of the Year honors and was named the USBWA Freshman of the Year. After spending the entirety of the season on Wooden Award watchlists, Carey was also named to the All-ACC first team and All-American second team.