With the NFL Draft conducted and both the MLB season and NBA playoffs underway, several Blue Devils are making an impact as pros. The Blue Zone is here to break down their performances:

Jayson Tatum

Duke’s finest is at it again. The Celtics’ star has been as excellent as ever through the beginning of the NBA playoffs. To open a best-of-seven series against the Orlando Magic, the St. Louis, Mo., native shot a mere 1-for-8 from beyond the arc. However, he was efficient in the paint — scoring 17 points and also grabbing 14 rebounds in a 17-point win. In the victory, the superstar suffered a severe bone bruise on his right wrist that led to the first missed playoff game of his career. Tatum had played each of his team’s 114 postseason games throughout eight years of professional basketball.

The three-time All-NBA First Team selection bounced back in Game 3, despite his team falling on the road 95-93. Tatum scored 36 points on 10-for-22 from the field, along with making each of his 12 free-throw attempts. In Game 4, he put up 37 points on a 10-for-25 shooting line and added 14 rebounds, leading the Celtics to a 107-98 victory.

Paolo Banchero

If Tatum is the Blue Devils’ standard bearer in the NBA, then Banchero is his current heir. It likely isn’t the Seattle native’s time yet, as his squad stares down the formidable task of winning three straight against Boston — but he’s coming. If the 22-year-old hopes to differentiate his game from the legion of stars just outside All-NBA conversation, he’ll need to score more efficiently. While Banchero has scored at least 25 points in each of his four games, his total 48-for-109 mark from the field shows room for growth. 

Wendell Carter Jr.

The former Duke center has been reliable as usual in this series, scoring at a solid clip while cleaning up the glass. In their Game 3 win, the Magic grabbed almost twice as many offensive rebounds as Boston — 15 to eight. Carter grabbed six himself, half of his game-leading 12 total boards. Throughout his seven-year career, the former seventh-overall pick has been an outstanding role player, averaging 11.9 points and 8.3 rebounds a game. 

Jordan Moore, Eli Pancol and Joshua Pickett

A trio of Blue Devils joined NFL teams as undrafted free agents over the weekend, with Moore latching on with the Cincinnati Bengals, Pancol joining the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pickett signing with the Denver Broncos. All three had outstanding careers in Durham and made strong impacts in head coach Manny Diaz’s successful first season. Moore and Pancol are fifth and twelfth respectively in all-time receiving touchdowns at Duke, and Pickett tallied 38 tackles in his senior season.

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