Could Duke basketball guard pull out of NBA Draft and return to Durham?

It was not a pretty week at the NBA Draft Combine for a Duke basketball guard. 

Most prospects use the NBA Draft Combine to dazzle organizations with their athleticism, basketball potential, and personality in the interview process, but one former Duke basketball guard did not put his best foot forward last week.

DJ Steward announced he was declaring for the 2021 NBA Draft on April 2, and that would be the end of his college career after one season.

Many questioned the decision, but the Blue Devils didn’t think twice about the move, reloading and filling his roster spot with five-star guard Trevor Keels one day after the announcement.

However, some NBA talent evaluators and scouts are thinking Steward would be best served with another season in college after his performance this weekend at the combine.

In a post-NBA Combine article today on ESPN, draft expert Jonathan Givony listed Steward as his top loser of the week: “Steward came into this week considered a borderline draft pick. He thoroughly struggled in the scrimmages, likely extinguishing any hopes of hearing his name called.”

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In the two scrimmages this week, Steward struggled mightily, going just 4-of-17 from the floor with four assists and seven turnovers.

As a freshman at Duke, he was the team’s second-leading scorer but struggled to consistently shoot the ball well, averaging 13.0 points per game on 42.6-percent shooting from the field and 34.1-percent from downtown.

“NBA teams unanimously agreed that Steward, still only 19 years old, should withdraw from the draft and return to Duke for his sophomore season, even though he has publicly announced his college career is over,” Givony continued.

“He has quite a bit of work to do on his body, playmaking ability, and defense based on what he showed in this setting and as a freshman.”

Could DJ Steward actually return to Duke basketball for a sophomore season?

After declaring for the NBA Draft, DJ Steward signed with Cervando Tejeda, the Principal and Founder of Athlete Sports Management (ASM). And during an interview in late April regarding the NBA Draft status of Derek Culver, his client and former West Virginia forward, Tejeda said he is not NCAA certified, which means Steward could not return to college.

DJ Steward also was the top player from The Athletic in their post-combine article ‘Players Moving Down’.

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Even if Steward were allowed to withdraw his name and return to college, he would be best served by entering the transfer portal and finding a new home as the Blue Devils have already begun preparations and workouts for the 2021-22 campaign.

It appears that DJ Steward will have an uphill battle to achieve his goals of reaching the NBA as he hopes to avoid a list that includes Trevon Duval as the only Duke freshmen to be a ‘one-and-done’ not selected in the NBA Draft.