ONE of Australia’s brightest basketball prospects is thriving on one of the biggest stages in the world – playing for the Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA.

The 18-year-old Tyrese Proctor entered the 2022/23 season with plenty of spotlight on his game, given the strength of Duke’s basketball program and the attention that comes with pulling on a Blue Devils uniform. Furthermore, his role within the team was flagged to be increased during this year’s fixture, so the pressure would be at an all-time high.

However, that has not seemed to six-foot-five guard, who has progressed well over the past month, and is enjoying being tasked with more responsibility when generating the team’s offence.

It was emphasised on the weekend when Proctor was a key cog in Duke producing a thumping win over the Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks, to take its record to 10 wins and two loss and continuing a period of dominance for the world’s highest-profile collegiate team.

Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks (55) def. by Duke Blue Devils (82)

Tyrese Proctor – 26 mins, 15 points, two rebounds, two assists, one steal

Proctor produced one of his most accurate performances from the field, nailing five of his nine attempts, and forming a damaging scoring trio with the likes of Dariq Whitehead (15 points) and Kyle Filipowski (14 points).

It was a quiet start to the match for the 18-year-old, who registered his first stat as a turnover, but made amends in the minutes that followed by picking up a steal of his own and creating a score on the fastbreak with a clever pass to a cutting Dereck Lively II, who threw down the dunk.

As the team’s primary ball-handler, Proctor was often picked up at full court, but made the right passes to advance the ball without being at risk of a 10-second violation. His first points came in the first half, as the shot clock wound down and he was forced to put up a tough jumper from the elbow with a hand in his face, but his composure saw the ball find the bottom of the net.

He chimed in for his first triple of the match when Mark Mitchell found him wide-open on the perimeter after some miscommunication from the Hawks defensively, and the guard made no mistake. Proctor continued to chime in offensively, draining a floater from mid-range shortly after, using the gather to create space at let the shot go over the defender.

The Sydney native kicked off the second half with some nice work on the boards, pulling down an offensive board and creating another possession for his side. After draining a pair of free throws to extend his side’s lead even further and keep with his 91 per cent free throw accuracy over the season, Proctor nailed his second shot from downtown from a Filipowski dime once again saw him wide open on the wing.

Proctor’s final contribution may have been his best play of the game, cutting to the hoop and receiving the ball in the paint on the drive. Looking to finish with his right, the guard pushed through the contact and drain the lay-up while drawing an and-one, demonstrating his strength and improved finishing ability at the rack.

It was one of Proctor’s best performances of the season, and perfectly shows how well the guard is progressing despite the attention and pressure that comes with playing for Duke.