Tyrese Proctor's College Experience, Current Teammates Help Him Stay Ready

Love the Blue Devils or hate ‘em: Wednesday’s strange victory in Charlotte was another illustration of just how good last year’s Duke team was. 

Last June, five players got drafted off that 2024-25 squad – which eventually fell in a Final Four heartbreaker: Cooper Flagg (No. 1 overall, Dallas), Kon Knueppel (4, Charlotte), Khaman Maluach (10, traded to Phoenix from Houston), Sion James (33, Charlotte) and, of course, Tyrese Proctor, at No. 49 to the Wine & Gold. 

Flagg and Knueppel are both off to scorching starts this year. (Knueppel doubled-up with 21 points and 11 rebounds against Cleveland on Wednesday; James, who’s started 18 games, went scoreless in 21 minutes.) Maluach has played sparingly with the Suns.

Tyrese Proctor has had his ups-and-downs as a rookie. In Wednesday’s win, he went 1-of-5 from the floor with a pair of rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench. Five nights earlier in Philadelphia, he scored 13 points in 11 minutes, going 3-of-5 from deep as the Cavs swept the two-game set against the Sixers. 

Even though they’ve gone their separate NBA ways, they’ve stayed close.

“When the Hornets came here, Sion and Kon came to my crib. Khaman, when Phoenix came to town, he pulled up. I’ll obviously see Cooper in Dallas,” said the Sydney, Australia native. “I mean, we were all together a few months ago and now we're all killing it in the league. What Duke is as a school, and as a program, that’s the accountability that they hold us to. You just never know when your number is gonna be called. And that’s been the biggest thing and the hardest thing. I really didn’t play in the new year until the (Jan. 16) Philly game. So, it’s just being ready for the unknown, which is challenging. But I think just the work I put in and the confidence I have in myself is what keeps pushing me.”

Proctor’s 13-point effort off the bench in Philly was his fifth double-digit performance of the season, drilling multiple three-pointers in all five. 

For most NBA rookies, the speed of the game is a shock to the system. And that was originally the case for the 6-4, 185-pounder.

“I think I'm going a little too quick sometimes, and just talking to Don, I think that it's just more so the excitement,” said Proctor. “Like, I’ve be waiting, working and then, you know, the first couple of minutes I get my first wind and then I start to slow down. The reads are just starting to become easier; I’m reading the game at a higher level. And I’ve watched so much film. I think I could take it to another level, which is gonna take time and reps and game, but I think throughout this first half of my rookie here it’s definitely starting to slow down a little bit.

Proctor played three seasons with the Blue Devils, ranking fourth in the ACC in three-point percentage (.405) and threes made per game (2.34) last season. In Duke’s ACC Tournament title game, he drilled six triples as Duke captured its 23^rd Conference championship. 

Over the course of his career, Proctor appeared in 106 games (97 starts) at Durham, averaging 10.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 29.9 minutes.

Playing high level hoops in Durham explains the shooting guard’s placid demeanor that’s unusual for rookies. 

“I think it’s just the stage,” he explained. “Obviously, you're not playing in front of 75,000 people, like the Final Four. But I went to two ACC Championships, we went undefeated at home, so I think that the pressures of the game are situations I’ve been in before. Obviously now it's upscaled, but just having that constant pressure, having that constant target on your back. And sort of having that like ‘hunt’ instead of ‘be-hunted’ mentality is something that I sort of carried over."

Proctor has appeared in 31 games so far, with one start. In that single start – a mid-December loss to Chicago – he finished with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting, drilling three triples to go with six rebounds, three assists and a steal. 

The Cavaliers have struggled to stay healthy all season, and the injury bug bit them again this week – sidelining Darius Garland, out with a right toe sprain, and Sam Merrill, with a sprained right hand.

That’s given Proctor this recent opportunity. And he’s had a rock-solid group of veterans guiding him along.

“From day one, all the guys, and I mean, everyone, one-through-15 have helped me out,” said Proctor. “The advantage of being the only rookie is being able to be a sponge and learn from everyone. Even Max – like, he's not playing right now, but just the stuff he sees, his mentality. I come in, and he's the first one at the in the facility every day. And now I’m trying to get here earlier than him. And it’s just little things like that, like little motivations. Don's been great. I've been with him all year, all summer. DG, JA, Evan, Larry. Larry's been a huge help. I’ve just being able to pick everyone's brain a little bit.”

Proctor, who’ll turn 22 on April 1^st, began playing basketball with the Sutherland Sharks in Australia, but he grew up playing several sports, including soccer, cricket and baseball. 

(On a day off during this past Training Camp at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL, several Cavs took turns taking batting practice on one of their spectacular baseball fields. Aside from Donovan Mitchell, who cracked multiple dingers, Proctor was easily the second-best hitter, cracking ropes to all fields.)

Even from the other end of the globe – where Proctor says it’s currently 104 degrees out – he still has a support system of friends and family checking in.

“I’ve got a lot of friends from home, and a lot of friends over here that are Australian,” said Proctor. “But there’s nothing like having a whole country supporting three, four, five guys in the NBA. So, there’s a ton of support, but I miss home every day It's hot right now! But it’s been great. They’ve seen the development that I've had personally – from the Sutherland Sharks back home, to the Global Academy, then overseas. So, it's kind of cool now, especially with social media, they can follow me and other guys from Australia's story in the NBA and just get a little inside look at what we do every day.”

After the Matthew Dellavedova Experience of the mid-2010s, with the pugnacious guard helping to lead the franchise to its first World Championship in 2016, it’s safe to say Cavalier fans will always have a soft spot for players from the Land Down Under. 

So, they’ll be curious to see what Tyrese Proctor has in store for the second half of his rookie season and beyond.

“I just put the work I put in, and I do a lot of mental work off the court,” said Proctor, describing his on-court cool. “And it goes back to being at Duke, not riding the waves of energy. If I’m playing really well, I can't get too high; if I'm playing terrible, I can't get too low. It’s just not showing my opponents what I'm feeling or how I'm feeling. I mean, you play 82 basketball games in a year. So, I think just having that mental edge on guys, you just sort of wear them down until you break them. I think that's sort of the mentality I have.”