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Paolo Banchero was only at Duke for one year, but he knows how crazy some students were.
Banchero, who was Duke’s best player as a freshman last season, said that people would randomly come to visit his dorm room without asking.
Sometimes you were like a zoo animal,” Banchero said. “In class, you’d see them whispering about you, staring at you, I had caught people trying to record me. I caught more than a few people trying to sneak-record me.”
Banchero also said that he was treated like a celebrity just because he played basketball there.
“Going to Duke, it was totally different. They treated you like a celebrity if you played basketball,” Banchero said. “It took a lot getting used to but it helped me prepare to come to the NBA.”
Banchero played in 39 games for Duke before he declared for the NBA Draft. He averaged 17 points, seven rebounds, and three assists per game
Things are a bit tamer for him now that he’s in the NBA, but that had to be one crazy way to live for a full year.