Miami Heat auditions Vernon Carey Jr., son of ex-Dolphins and Hurricanes standout
What do the two sons of a former college football All-American and a longtime NFL starter decide to become?
Basketball players, naturally.
Vernon Carey, the former Miami Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes standout offensive linemen, chuckles at the path that his sons Vernon Jr. and Jaylen have chosen.
Let’s be clear: Carey and his wife, LaTavia, are happy that their sons picked a sport they like and they’re good at, even if it’s not the one their famous father pursued.
Vernon Carey Jr., the former Broward-based University School standout and a second-team All-American in his one season at Duke, is expected to be selected either in the second half of the first round of the Nov. 18 NBA Draft or early in the second round.
Some mock drafts have Carey dropping to the late 20s or 30s or even 40s, but his father said: “It’s going to be better than what people are saying. I spoke to people and they don’t believe he will be there at 24, 25.”
The Miami Heat, which has the 20th overall pick, interviewed Carey last week and then put him through an hour-long private workout the following day at a Miami gym. Carey said the Heat had his son go through several drills and he “shot well, ran well and passed well.”
Teams are permitted to hold 10 private workouts under the NBA’s COVID restrictions and we hear Miami has used several on big men in their draft range, including Carey and Arizona’s Zeke Nnaji.
In his one season at Duke, the 6-10 Carey averaged 17.8 points and 8.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in just 24.9 minutes per game while shooting 57.7 percent from the field and 8 for 21 on threes.
The elder Carey said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has told NBA teams that the way he needed to use Vernon Jr. did not put on display his full NBA skill set.
“He played under the rim a lot at Duke,” Carey said of his son. “Duke wanted him big [weight-wise] because college basketball is a lot of banging down low. Coach K wanted to use him that way.”
NBA teams wanted him to lose weight, and Carey said his son has done that, dropping from 260 to 237 since the season ended.
Carey Jr. is working out four times a week with renowned trainer Stan Remy, who has assisted Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler and many other NBA players.
“He’s continuing to work on his shooting; he wants to be really good at it,” Carey said of his son. “People don’t understand how good he can shoot. He can hit threes consistently. He came right out and hit two threes vs. Kansas in his first game and he’s a guy who can’t shoot? Coach K said, ‘We know you can shoot but we need you inside.’”
Carey said his son is also “working on lateral movement, the things people questioned.”
His ball-handling, like most young bigs, needs work; he had 63 turnovers and 30 assists last season.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz ranked him 28th on their Big Board, noting, “he struggles to defend in space. Effort level comes and goes on that end. Fundamentals and discipline still improving.”
ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla told me that Carey is being overlooked somewhat and “there’s too much longterm potential for a 6-10 kid who can play” for him to fall too much. He’s a great project for a team in the 20s.”
His best skill?
“Finishing,” Carey’s father said. “He can finish with contact. Even as a young kid, he could always finish with contact. His game is special because he can kill you on different levels. Heat players used to see him in high school. James Johnson, Bam Adebayo used to come see him. They know him.”
And off the court, “he’s a good kid that listens,” Carey said. “He doesn’t fight you. He’s a team player. He’s a humble kid. He’s just a good kid. People come up all the time and say how respectful he is.”
Turning pro after one season “was not a tough decision,” his father said. “This was always his dream.”
Carey — who was a third-team All-American at UM and spent eight seasons with the Dolphins (through 2011) — and LaTavia have four children. Their other son, Jaylen, 15, is a sophomore center at University School, though it’s too early to gauge his pro potential.
Daughter Taelynn, 15, also plays basketball. (Jaylen and Taelynn are twins.) Their fourth child is 5.
Of his sons bypassing football, Carey said: “It was surprising they became basketball players. My thing is: ‘What do you want to do?’ I would tell this to any parent.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 2:35 PM.
