Keenan Worthington
Year: Freshman
Height: 6-foot-9
Position: Forward
Last year’s statline: N/A
Game Breakdown: Worthington joins the Blue Devils as the second walk-on in his class to start the 2019-20 season. He comes to Durham from Blair Academy, a highly-touted prep school that has produced the likes of NBA players Luol Deng and Charlie Villanueva. The North Carolina native won't be expected to see many minutes for at least the first part of his career, but with a 6-foot-9 frame, who knows if Worthington could see more action down the line.
The two-star recruit chose the Blue Devils as a walk-on over other scholarship offers, and even once teamed up with fellow freshman walk-on Michael Savarino when the two were in seventh grade.
Role on the Team: Similar to Savarino, it is likely that Worthington will not see much action this year and may even take a redshirt to extend his college career another season. Walk-ons certainly don't provide the same impact on the game as scholarship players, but it will be up to the freshman to compete hard in practice and develop the culture of the program as much as possible.
With some older players on the team like Justin Robinson and Mike Buckmire who can mentor Worthington in his role, the Blair Academy product should use his first year on campus to try and develop into a contributor for the future.
NBA Comparison: Taking a look at Worthington's tape, his offensive game is very similar to that of Meyers Leonard of the Miami Heat. The Duke forward doesn't nearly matchup in size compared to Leonard, but possesses the same ability to knock down a three as the NBA big shot 45 percent from deep last season. Worthington is also effective when cutting to the basket and has a knack for making the smart pass, similar to Leonard, who finished in the top-ten among power forwards in assist ratio last year.
Projected Stats: 0 PPG, 0 RPG, 0 MPG
Stay tuned to the Blue Zone for our continuing player previews. Previous players previewed include Michael Savarino and Justin Robinson.
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