Antonio Vrankovic
- Year: Junior
- Height: 7 feet
- Position: Center
- This year's stat line: 1.0 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 0.5 APG
- The Blue Zone's projected stat line: 0.5 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 0.5 BPG
Season breakdown:
Although he was not likely to get much playing time heading into the season, Vrankovic’s time on the floor was cut even further by head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s rotations that largely featured the same seven players for much of the season. With star freshmen Wendell Carter, Jr. and Marvin Bagley III starting ahead of him and Javin DeLaurier coming off the bench, Vrankovic didn’t see much time on the court.
The junior got off to a good start to the year, playing his best in Duke’s win against then-No. 2 Michigan State in the Champions Classic after Bagley went down with an eye injury. But after that performance—in which he posted three points and a rebound in five minutes of play—he barely saw the court except in easy wins for the Blue Devils. His three points in that game would prove to be his season high, but he did improve on his rebounding high with five boards against St. Francis (Pa.).
For the rest of the season, Vrankovic rarely saw the floor, save for the occasional few minutes off the bench in garbage time, including Duke’s win against Iona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Even when Bagley went down with a knee injury halfway through conference play, Vrankovic didn’t see much of an increase in playing time, with most of those minutes instead going to Marques Bolden.
Results relative to expectations:
After steadily improving over his first two years on campus, Vrankovic was poised to continue his steady success as one of the last players off the bench in his junior year. But with the surprise arrival of Bagley, and the emergence of Carter in the starting lineup and Bolden and DeLaurier off the bench, his chances to break into Krzyzewski’s rotations dwindled quickly. When called upon, he could still provide a big presence in the paint—as demonstrated by the Michigan State game—but simply wasn’t going to see much time on the court amidst such a talented group of younger forwards.
Going forward, it is hard to see this changing next season, even though there isn’t a true center arriving in Duke’s newest star-studded recruiting class. Vrankovic could see more time behind Bolden at center, but given Bolden’s and even DeLaurier’s progress this year, he will face a tough challenge time cracking the rotation again in 2018-19.
Check back tomorrow for a review of Jack White's season—the last in our player review series. The Blue Zone has already reviewed Grayson Allen,Marvin Bagley III, Marques Bolden, Wendell Carter Jr., Javin DeLaurier, Alex O'Connell, Jordan Goldwire, Trevon Duval, Justin Robinson and Gary Trent Jr.'s campaigns.
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