Chase Jeter's Steady Rise Lands Him At Duke

Five-star power forward Chase Jeter is headed to Duke University to play for Coach K at Cameron Indoor. In an announcement that wasn’t exactly a surprise, the 6’10” Jeter recently made his commitment during the Adidas Nations basketball tournament on ESPNU.

It’s been a slow and steady climb out of the shadows for Jeter who came up with 7’0” Stephen Zimmerman during their high school tenure at Bishop Gorman in Nevada. The duo holds three straight state championships, but it seemed that Jeter’s light never shined quite as bright as Zimmerman’s during that run. Using last June as an example, Scout had Zimmerman as the No. 1 prospect in the 2015 class while Jeter came in at No. 29. Now, however; Chase Jeter is considered every bit the prospect that Zimmerman is and currently maintains a No. 9 ranking by Scout.com.

At each viewing over the past year Jeter’s game progressed at every event he attended. Last year at the Adidas Nations, Jeter averaged 4.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. This year he increased that to 12.7 points and 10 rebounds per game. Little by little Jeter has added weight to his frame while becoming more aggressive down low. After a strong junior year Jeter was finally able to step out of the shadows when Zimmerman decided to join the Oakland Soldiers AAU team and compete in the Nike EYBL. 

As the go-to player for Dream Vision’s 17U AAU team in the Adidas Uprising league, Jeter responded in-kind averaging 20.4 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. In June, Jeter made the 18U USA National Team that featured several incoming college freshmen despite being the youngest member. After participating in Colorado Springs with the USA team, Jeter put together a very strong summer which began in July at the Adidas Unrivaled Camp in Chicago and just ended with the Adidas Nations camp in California with stops at Milwaukee and Las Vegas in between. Jeter made the All-Star team in Chicago after averaging 16 points and 8 rebounds per game and then led his Dream Vision team to second place in the famed FAB 48 tournament.

At 6’10” Jeter can run the floor and affect the game on both ends of the court. On the offensive end he prefers to turn right and finish with a right hand hook. He is comfortable stepping out for a 12-15 foot jumper and doesn’t mind mixing it up down low. On the defensive end, Jeter has enough spring in his step to block shots on a regular basis and he also moves his feet relatively well on the pick and roll. 

While many schools were recruiting Zimmerman and Jeter together, Duke decided to make Jeter a priority from the time former assistant coach Steve Wojchiehowski first initiated contact. After several Las Vegas visits along with a viewing at the Chicago Elite Classic the Duke coaching staff was able to convince Jeter to schedule an official visit to Durham for the Duke-UNC game in March. In front of a raucous crowd Jeter watched the Blue Devils soundly defeat the rival Tar Heels. Despite not receiving a quick commitment from Jeter, Duke continued to pursue Jeter hard throughout the spring and summer. At each live period, the Duke coaching staff was usually two to three coaches deep for Jeter’s games. 

With the recent Jeter commitment, Duke is in a great position for their 2015 recruiting class. To go along with Jeter and Kennard Duke will also gain the services of 6’9” Sean Obi, a big man who recently transferred from Rice after averaging 11.4 points and 9.3 rebounds as a freshman. Duke is still actively recruiting 6’10” Ivan Rabb and 6’10” Henry Ellenson to pair with Jeter and Obi down low. 

It’s been a steady rise for Chase Jeter over the past year, but with one more season left at Bishop Gorman it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Jeter finish his career with four state championships and a possible Top 5 ranking.