Sophomore center Chase Jeter has announced that he is transferring to the Arizona Wildcats for his final two years of eligibility. Jeter will have to sit out the upcoming season but will be eligible to play for the Wildcats the following season.
Jeter’s time at Duke showed flashes of potential, but injuries often slowed the big man down. Duke often runs a system with four wings and only one big man, so the chance for Jeter to get significant amounts of playing time next year was unlikely. Jeter’s odds at Arizona should be better once he’s eligible to play.
Jeter comes off a sophomore season where he averaged 2.6 points per game, 2.7 rebounds per game and 1.1 steals per game. These stats don’t exactly jump off the page, but injuries and the four wing system ran at Duke had a lot to do with why Jeter didn’t exactly live up to the previous hype.
Duke has a clear problem when it comes to player transferring away from the program, but with the large amounts of talent they have coming in it may not come back to be a huge problem for the program. Players like Trevon Duval come to Duke quite often, so a transfer problem can be easily forgiven by fans.
Chase Jeter faces a year where he has to sit out, but then has time to hopefully prove to NBA teams that he can stay healthy and be a positive addition to their team. It is hard to predict what the Wildcat’s roster will look like a year from now, but Jeter should have a better chance of getting more playing time in Arizona than he would at Duke. The five-star recruit looks to get back to business in one year at a new college.
