BUTLER TWP — Opportunity knocked for Devin Carney — a few more times than he anticipated.

Butler’s senior guard and 2,000-point scorer is convinced he answered the right door in signing a letter of intent this week to continue his academic and basketball career at Duquesne University.

Carney decided to re-open his college recruitment after Elon coach Mike Schrage resigned as head coach of the Phoenix to accept an assistant coaching position at Duke.

“When Coach Schrage called me to say he was leaving, he explained I was welcome to stay with my commitment to Elon or re-open my recruitment,” Carney said. “I was torn a little bit ... I waited two weeks before deciding to re-open.

“I was confident I would get some offers, but I was surprised by how many schools reached out to me.”

Among colleges offering Carney scholarships were St. Bonaventure, Miami of Ohio, Tennessee-Chattanooga, California-Santa Barbara and Georgia State, along with Duquesne.

Carney estimated receiving interest from 30 Division I schools once he put his name back out there.

“Devin was the last Elon commit to opt out,” his father, former Robert Morris University basketball standout Shelton Carney said. “That speaks a lot for his character. He took time to think it through.

“He’s going to a school where he’ll get a great education, play some high-level basketball ... and he really clicked with their coaches. That was pretty important.”

Carney is one of five guards in Duquesne’s eight-player recruiting class as the Dukes are “re-booting their back court,” Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot said.

“By that, I mean our 1-2-3 positions,” Hambrot said of his team’s back-court reconstruction. “Devin’s got a great chance to be a big part of that. We love his talent and his shooting ability. I think he’ll adapt to this level of play quickly.”

Part of that adaptation may come from having a father who stands 6-foot-5 and was a Division I college player himself.

“College basketball is a completely different game from high school, just like the NBA is completely different from college,” Hambrot said. “Having a father who’s been through it, who understands the transition and what it takes, is only going to help Devin.”

Shelton Carney said that “my wing span is 6-10 or 6-11 once I get my arms up. Devin’s had to shoot over that his whole life. He’s used to it.”

Carney made an official visit to Duquesne and worked out in front of the coaching staff. He went through a shooting drill that ended with him making shots from “10 to 15 feet behind the college 3-point line,” his father said.

While Duquesne will have a new back-court, it will not lack in collegiate experience. Tevin Brewer is a 5-8 graduate transfer from Florida Atlantic who averaged 15.2 points per game and led Conference USA with 5.6 assists per game last season. He figures to play point guard for the Dukes.

Jimmy “Tre” Clark III played two years at Virginia Commonwealth and is coming from Northwest Florida State College. Quincy McGriff is coming from Salt Lake Community College, which played for the NJCAA championship.

“I’m going to continue to work out,” Carney said. “Get stronger, improve my shooting ability. I want to get on the floor and contribute as a freshman. I know that’s going to take some work.

“They’re building right now and I want to be a part of that. Win the Atlantic 10, maybe get to the Sweet 16, doing something like that would be nice. Duquesne’s been a great basketball program and I want to help get the program back to that level.”

Carney plans to major in sports management.

“Young (college) players adapt at a different pace,” Hambrot said. “We were the youngest team in our league last year and this league is too good ... Things didn’t go well for us. That’s why we’re bringing in some guards with experience to help our younger guys.

“Devin’s got a chance to do some special things with us. I can’t prognosticate anything that way, but we’re excited to see how all of this goes.”

The Dukes finished 6-24 last season, winning only one conference game and closing the season on a 17-game losing streak.

“I like the plan they’ve put in place, mixing in experienced players with the freshmen,” Shelton Carney said. “It’s tough for freshmen to get on the court in college at any Division I program. Devin needs to do whatever’s asked of him to help the team win, whether that be playing a lot as a freshman or waiting his turn.”

Carney has no problem that way. He’s just happy with the way everything turned out.

“I’m going to a beautiful campus close to home and the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse is a great facility,” he said. “I can’t wait to get started.”