Duke Freshman Joey Baker Loses Redshirt Season After Playing vs. Syracuse

With Zion Williamson out because of a knee injury, freshman forward Joey Baker saw his first game action for Duke against Syracuse on Saturday.

According to Stadium's Jeff Goodman, it was a surprising move since Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski had planned to redshirt Baker:

Because Baker entered the game, he'll start next season as a sophomore rather than a redshirt freshman.

Baker sat out the season's first 26 games, but given his shooting ability and the team's need to hit threes against Syracuse's zone defense, Coach K pressed him into action.

Duke went just 9-of-43 from beyond the arc in its 95-91 loss to Syracuse last month. The Blue Devils are also coming off an 88-72 loss to North Carolina on Wednesday that saw them go 8-of-39 from long range.

Duke lacks scoring depth outside its starters, and with Williamson out Saturday, Krzyzewski looked to Baker to provide a spark.

Baker is a 6'7", 200-pound native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, who graded out as a 4-star prospect and was ranked as the No. 33 overall recruit in the 2018 class by 247Sports.

The biggest keys to Duke's success down the stretch will likely continue to be Williamson, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones, but now that a redshirt is out of the question, Baker may have a chance to carve out a niche with the NCAA tournament approaching.