As fall sports ramp up, several Blue Devil alumni are hard at work in the professional leagues. The Blue Zone examines some former Duke players performing at the highest levels of the pro game:
Chelsea Gray, Las Vegas Aces
Gray filled an important backcourt role in Team USA’s Olympic gold medal run, totaling a team-high 31 assists in six games, good for third-most of any player in the competition. Since then, the 2013 ACC player of the year has settled back into the rhythm of WNBA play, starting all seven of the Aces’ games since the Olympic break. She made a notable mark last Sunday against the Chicago Sky, posting 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, the last of which was a perfectly-executed inbound lob to A’ja Wilson, whose left-handed layup gave Las Vegas a buzzer-beater victory. The reigning WNBA champions also clinched a playoff berth in Friday night’s victory against the Atlanta Dream, a step in the right direction towards their quest to become the first three-peat WNBA team since 2000. The Aces will have to lean on Gray’s veteran savvy and playmaking ability to do so, trusting that one of the league’s most veteran facilitators will dictate games just as she did in the two prior playoffs.
Griffin Conine, Miami Marlins
Griffin Conine, welcome to the show. After spending over six years in the minor leagues, the two-time All-ACC Second Team selection made his MLB debut with the Miami Marlins on Monday night. Despite striking out in his lone at-bat, Conine bounced back big in his first official start a day later, tallying two extra-base hits and coming around to score both times. This positive momentum continued on Saturday night, when Conine took a Mason Black fastball 401 feet for his first big-league homer. The ball left his bat at a scorching 112.5 miles per hour and, despite looking like it might drift into foul territory, crashed violently into the right field foul pole. As the son of Jeff Conine, a two-time World Series winner nicknamed “Mr. Marlin” due to his extensive contributions to the team, the former Duke star certainly has large shoes to fill. But with a 0.919 OPS through 16 at bats, he’s on the right track.
Brian White, Vancouver Whitecaps
When Brian White is hot, there aren’t many other MLS strikers who can touch him. After a slow start to the summer, White exploded back into form against St. Louis June 29. Down 0-2 in the 35th minute, the 2017 All-America selection got on the end of a long ball and knocked it home to put the Whitecaps on the scoresheet. Just eight minutes into the second half, White produced another moment of magic, lobbing a backheel, “scorpion kick” finish over the keeper’s head to equalize the score. He completed his second career hat trick in the 61st minute, nodding home a Ryan Raposo cross to complete the comeback and give Vancouver the lead. White showed no signs of slowing down in his next few games, scoring once in Minnesota a week later, again against Montreal and then twice in his second matchup vs. St. Louis, giving him a total of seven goals across a four-game span. Unfortunately, White has failed to net a goal since then and missed this weekend’s match in Austin due to a concussion. But White’s quality still shouldn’t be doubted, and he’ll be a key piece for the fifth-place Whitecaps during this critical stretch before the playoffs.
Duke rookies in the NFL
Duke had a strong presence in this past year’s NFL draft, and all three players who were drafted have made their team’s respective rosters. Graham Barton, drafted 26th overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is expected to serve as the team’s starting center. Despite starting all nine of his games last season at left tackle, the 2023 All-American is highly regarded in terms of his versatility and will look to put that on display week one against the Commanders. DeWayne Carter, a third-round pick to the Buffalo Bills, will be a key rotational defensive tackle for the AFC East powerhouse. Learning from proven stars Ed Oliver and Daquan Jones, Carter will look to wreak havoc in a similar manner as he did across his illustrious four-year career with the Blue Devils. Jacob Monk, the first of the Green Bay Packers’ two fifth-round picks, is listed towards the bottom of his team’s depth chart, but showed flashes in preseason at both guard and center. He’s mainly turned heads at the latter position and would most likely slide into the starting lineup should anything happen to starting center Josh Myers.
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