Blue Devils’ Griffin becomes 5th Duke player to bolt for NBA

Duke freshman A.J. Griffin is heading to the NBA, becoming the fifth Blue Devils player in the past week to declare early for the draft.

The school announced Griffin’s decision Sunday, the last day for players to declare themselves eligible for the NBA draft. Duke said the 6-foot-6, 222-pound wing regarded as a potential lottery draft pick plans to hire an agent.

“It was a dream come true,” Griffin said in a statement. “My experiences have helped prepare me for this moment and I am proud to know I will be a Blue Devil for life.”

Griffin’s NBA move follows that of 7-1 sophomore Mark Williams, 6-10 star freshman Paolo Banchero, 6-5 wing Wendell Moore Jr. and 6-5 guard Trevor Keels. Part of one of the nation’s top recruiting classes out of Ossining, New York, Griffin is ranked as ESPN’s No. 8 draft prospect.

He averaged 10.4 points while providing size, outside shooting and defensive potential to the wing for the Blue Devils. That production came despite him missing most of his last two high school seasons because of knee and ankle injuries, as well as a preseason knee injury that slowed his process of getting back in rhythm after extended absences.

While Duke is losing a lot of top-tier talent as Jon Scheyer takes over for Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils will have guard Jeremy Roach – who announced his return earlier in the week and had a strong postseason run – as the team’s top returning scorer (8.6 points, 27 starts). Duke also has 247sports’ No. 1-ranked recruiting class, featuring top overall prospect Dereck Lively II, fellow big man Kyle Filipowski (No. 3) and small forward Dariq Whitehead (No. 5).