Las Vegan Jeter stays positive despite rocky freshman year at Duke

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Everyone talks about the glimpses. The flashes. Those moments in practice or games or when only a few teammates are around and it’s getting late and the janitor wants to sweep the floor and Chase Jeter is getting in some extra work.

They talk about how he gets in a lot of extra work.

This is one of those stories about how to handle going from The Guy to Not The Guy.

More like, Not In The Same Zip Code As The Guy.

Jeter was part of four straight Division I state titles at Bishop Gorman High, a McDonald’s All-American and Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year and USA Under-18 champion and all the other bells and whistles and accolades you can attach to such a spectacular resume. He then chose the path of other prep stars over the years, signing with Duke and Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski and the historic level of success and expectations that goes with wearing the Blue Devils uniform.

He then learned it can be a difficult, rocky, at times incredibly frustrating one to follow.

“Coming here, I knew it would be a challenge,” Jeter said. “I had to earn everything in high school, and I’m going to have to earn it here. But being at Duke, being coached by one of the greatest of all time, being around the basketball culture in Durham, hearing about the experiences of guys from the past and how they had to go through some of the same things, my mindset is good. I just keep grinding and working. It’s all about winning here and being on the sport’s biggest stage.

“I love Duke. I love it.”

Jeter and his teammates as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament continue their journey Thursday in trying to successfully defend the school’s national championship, meeting No. 1 seed Oregon in the second of two West Regional semifinals at the Honda Center. The winner meets whoever survives the first game between second-seeded Oklahoma and No. 3 Texas A&M on Saturday with a Final Four berth at stake.

Should he make any impact against the Ducks in this Sweet 16 matchup, Jeter probably will do so in less than 10 minutes, given he averaged just 7.9 this season while playing in 31 of 35 games. He went scoreless in 14 of them and managed a season-high seven points on two occasions. He grabbed five or more rebounds four times.

The loss of players off last year’s championship team early to the NBA and injuries shortened Duke’s bench considerably this season, which caused many to assume Jeter’s minutes would continue to increase on a team limited to a seven-man rotation, including four freshmen.

But post players often take the longest to develop in college, to understand the size and speed and ability of facing and banging against older bodies, and the fact the 6-foot-10-inch Jeter is one of the youngest freshmen nationally has lengthened his learning curve.

He needs to get stronger.

He needs to adapt to playing a man’s game.

A glimpse: He played a season-high 17 minutes at Louisville, finishing with five points and two rebounds.

A flash: He had seven points on 3-of-4 shooting and six rebounds against Notre Dame in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

“Chase is a great kid,” said Duke freshman Brandon Ingram, projected by most as a top 2 pick in the NBA Draft. “He has a great attitude that he has kept all season. We’ve seen him get better and better. We always put that bug in his ear to keep working, that his time will come. Of course, it’s difficult (not playing), but we all realize this is a different level and the talent is much greater than what we’ve seen. If you’re playing under Coach K, you’re good. Chase is going to be a great player.”

Jeter said he didn’t follow things back home much this season, didn’t keep up with the drama show that UNLV basketball became, didn’t allow his mind to wander from his task of trying to earn more time by getting in all that extra work.

For now, glimpses and flashes are what those alongside him have seen.

They are certain there is much more to come.

“I just stayed pretty dialed in to everything here,” Jeter said. “Duke is home now.”

Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on “Seat and Ed” on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Twitter: @edgraney