Baseball has dominated the sports scene in the Dominican Republic since the early 1900s. But Oregon’s Chris Duarte wrote his own narrative and chose to embrace the game of basketball.
While Duarte was born in Montreal but raised in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, he and his family moved to New York so Chris could finish his last two years of high school basketball.
At Redemption Christian Academy, he rose through the ranks and earned the No. 5 overall ranking in the state of New York by the end of his senior season.
In 2017, Duarte signed to Western Kentucky, but never suited up for the Hilltoppers. Eventually he found a home with the Northwest Florida Junior College Raiders.
“I was mad that I was giving up two years on my life to go play basketball at a junior college in Florida,” Duarte told SB Nation.
In his first year as a Raider, Duarte contributed 12 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. He was recognized with all-conference honors and a state title. He gained postseason experience very early, as the Raiders advanced to the Elite Eight in the NJCAA tournament in his first season.
The following year, Duarte enjoyed a breakout season. As a sophomore, he averaged 19 points per game, 7.1 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.2 blocks en route to being named the NJCAA Player of The Year.
But Duarte isn’t the first NJCAA Player of the Year to play in an Oregon Ducks jersey.
Head coach Dana Altman has had tremendous success recruiting players from JUCO schools. Since 2015, Altman and his staff have lured four of the last five NJCAA Players of the Year to Eugene. Duarte joins Chris Boucher, Kavell Bigby-Williams and current teammate Shakur Juiston as former NJCAA athletes to win the prestigious honor.
A former JUCO player himself, Altman has been active in using his recruiting tactics at smaller schools. With Eugene unable to offer a large market or the tradition of being a basketball school, the Ducks rely heavily on transfers. Over the past six seasons, Oregon has incorporated 19 transfers into its roster.
With Duarte bringing his small-school experience to Eugene, he is aiming to soak in Altman’s knowledge and wisdom before taking his talents to the next level.
“Not many people know who I am right now, but they will find out soon enough,” Duarte said in an interview with SB Nation.
Unsure of how he would mesh with the Ducks, Duarte has found his niche as the right-hand man to Payton Pritchard. The duo are the only two players averaging double-digit scoring on the team.
Having the offensive capabilities to get his own shot, Duarte must now focus on becoming a better defensive player. Since the New Year he has shown signs of reaching his full potential, and not just on the offensive end, either.
Duarte has tallied at least five steals in three of the last four games and is the only Oregon player with double digit steals and blocks this season
His recent play hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“Defensively, he’s shown what he’s capable of,” Pritchard said. “And now we need to hold him to that standard.”
Will Richardson also commended Duarte’s newfound effort on defense.
“I think he’s more aware, before he was used to going through the motions,” Richardson said.
While Duarte has work to do on the court, there is something bigger than basketball waiting for him. He and his girlfriend, Sylvia Velazquez, are expecting their first child, a baby boy who is due at the end of February.
An only child, Duarte has been able to focus all his attention to basketball.
Hoping to move on to a professional career after a year at Oregon, his focus at the moment is bringing a National Championship back to Eugene.
From Puerto Plata to Western Florida to Eugene, Duarte has seen more than your average recruit would. He has gone from earning the top honors in the NJCAA to taking home his second Pac-12 Player of the Week in the span of less than a month.
When Duarte is not on the hardwood helping his team win, he and Velazquez occasionally make the trip back to where his journey began, throwing down alley-oop passes from locals in the streets of Puerto Plata.