Chase Jeter's priorities changed when he left Duke. Now, he's one of Arizona's key pieces

Before he turned 17, Chase Jeter had a path through basketball all figured out.

A five-star center in the high school class of 2015, playing for the powerhouse Bishop Gorman High School program in Las Vegas, Jeter received a rare offer to play for Duke. He chose the Blue Devils over offers from Arizona, Kansas, UCLA and several others.

There was every reason to envision good things ahead.

Of course.

Blue chip players and blue blood programs feed each other, don’t they?

“I just liked the feel of the environment,” Jeter said of Duke and its home arena after announcing his commitment in August 2014. “I just felt like it was the right place for me.”

It wasn’t. Limited opportunities as a freshman and a back injury as a sophomore made Duke a difficult experience on the court. He averaged just 10.3 minutes and 2.1 points per game over two seasons.

The Duke detour, however, provided Jeter with the growth he couldn’t have imagined in 2014.

“I think when I was in high school, Duke was the only place I had visited officially and looking back now I understand that I was probably star stuck a little bit,” Jeter said.

“Duke was something I wanted for myself. But I don’t have any regrets. I’ve had to accept the fact that it wasn’t going to be my path and my path was going to be a little bit different than what I had expected.”

Chase Jeter compares Tucson to Durham, North Carolina: pic.twitter.com/PHqkE5K1ze

— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) July 20, 2018

By the spring of 2017, Jeter knew. He announced he would transfer from Duke, and considered a number of high level programs closer to home: Arizona, Gonzaga, Cal, San Diego State, Oregon, Utah and UCLA.

Jeter looked at the process differently this time. Recruited heavily by Arizona out of high school, he projected the potential impact he could make in 2018-19 and saw the program differently.

“The second time around, the most important thing was opportunity,” Jeter said. “And I knew I was going to be comfortable with the coaching staff and my teammates. I wasn’t worried about the wrong things like the first time around.

“When I was in high school, I was young. I liked that I was highly touted and I liked that I was one of the only guys Duke had offered. I was a little insecure when I was younger and moving forward I was a little more secure in myself.”

Turns out, the opportunity Jeter found at Arizona couldn’t have been better. The Wildcats lost 7-foot starters Deandre Ayton and Dusan Ristic and backup power forward Keanu Pinder, leaving just four players for the two post spots: Grad transfer Ryan Luther, sophomores Ira Lee and Emmanuel Akot — and Jeter.

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Jeter will likely play as many minutes as he can stay productive, provided he plays the kind of defense UA coach Sean Miller is already impressed with.

“Chase has worked hard to add to his body and he’s hungry to have a big role, which he’s gonna have,” Miller said earlier in the offseason. “I love the way he defends and I think his team-centered attitude will be one of the cornerstones to our success this year.”

That’s setting the bar pretty high. But it’s something Jeter is embracing.

“I’m excited. This is everything I’ve wished for,” Jeter said.

“My role will be big but I think the biggest thing is I have great guys around me. It’s going to make my role a lot easier with the players we do have on this team. We’re gonna have some chances for everybody to improve and show what we can do.”

Jeter has put in a pretty nonstop schedule since arriving at Arizona last summer. After recovering from the herniated disk that kept him out the final two months of his sophomore season, Jeter followed up with a five-day-a-week a conditioning plan aimed in part at strengthening his back, crediting conditioning coach Chris Rounds and his team for support.

“Now I have zero pain in my back. I’m 100 percent healthy,” Jeter said.

“I haven’t had any mishaps or anything since I was at Duke. I didn’t miss one practice last year and I’m just as confident in my abilities as I am with my health.”

Jeter tested himself on both those things every day last season, facing Ayton and Ristic in practice, which he said, not surprisingly, “forces you to improve.”

Chase Jeter on the differences between Sean Miller and Coach K: pic.twitter.com/hfddhZDsyz

— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) July 20, 2018

Meanwhile, Jeter has also taken classes just about whenever he can. Every summer session, and even when he went home to Las Vegas for the presummer session in May, he went online to take more.

A 3.86 GPA student in high school who was credited as “one of our top academic performers” at Duke by coach Mike Krzyzewski, Jeter says he may even be in position to graduate in December. However, doing so would mean he’d have to transition into a graduate school program in mid-season.

“That’s kind of a big workload,” Jeter says. “It’s a possibility. I’m just kind of playing it by ear at this point.”

Either way, Jeter will be busy next season.

He can’t wait.

“I’m a big energy guy,” Jeter said. “I’m very passionate about the game. I feel like it’s gonna be great to finally get back out there on the court and show what I’m capable of.”