Every night at the YMCA, for hours at a time, a father and son worked on basketball. Trevor Duval would rebound, set screens, run his boy through drills, and repeat the same words until they became the soundtrack of Trevon’s childhood: You’re going to the NBA. You’re going to the NBA. You’re going to the NBA.
Trevon Tyler Anthony Duval was born on August 3, 1998, in New Castle, Delaware. He attended St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey, where he emerged as one of the most electric point guards in the country. As a sophomore, he scored 25 points with 8 assists to lead the Gray Bees to the NCSAA state championship. That summer, he helped the New Jersey Playaz win the Nike EYBL Peach Jam — the most prestigious AAU tournament in the country — alongside future Kentucky star Isaiah Briscoe.
Before his junior year, Duval transferred to Advanced Preparatory International in Dallas, Texas, averaging 16.8 points and 7.0 assists. He transferred again — to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida — for his senior year, averaging 16.2 points and 7.7 assists and earning first-team All-America honors from USA Today and SLAM Magazine. Three high schools in four years. The basketball pipeline kept moving him toward the destination his father had promised.
By the spring of 2017, Duval was the No. 1 point guard and No. 5 overall prospect in the ESPN 100 — ranked higher than future NBA stars Jaren Jackson Jr., Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Trae Young, and Collin Sexton. He was a McDonald’s All-American, a Jordan Brand Classic selection, and a Nike Hoop Summit participant. He had a 6-foot-8 wingspan and a 41.5-inch vertical — freakish measurements for a 6-foot-2 guard.
On May 15, 2017, he committed to Duke, joining a recruiting class that already included Wendell Carter Jr. and Gary Trent Jr. Marvin Bagley III would reclassify and join them. It was supposed to be the class that won Coach K another championship. Duval was supposed to be the engine.