The Duke Blue Devils gained a big-time player from the transfer portal when head coach Jon Scheyer received a commitment from former Washington State shooting guard Cedric Coward, who also entered his name in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Now, following an impressive performance at the NBA Draft Combine, Coward decided to forgo his season with the Blue Devils and kept his name in the draft.
Coward was a four-star transfer prospect, earning a lot of respect during the 2024-25 season as he averaged 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while he shot 40 percent from beyond the arc.
Don't worry, this isn't the end-all, be-all of the upcoming season for the Blue Devils. Scheyer has recruited the No. 1 class of 2025 prospects and is already working to do the same with the next year's class.
Duke men's basketball 2025 recruiting class
- Cameron Boozer, 5-star power forward
- Dame Sarr, 5-star shooting guard
- Nikolas Khamenia, 4-star small forward
- Cayden Boozer, 4-star point guard
- Sebastian Wilkins, 4-star power forward
The five blue-chip commits aren't the only players that Scheyer has brought in to rebuild his team, after the departures of almost his entire roster to the NBA Draft. The Duke head coach also recruited three-star center Iffy Ufochukwu to transfer to his program from Rice.
Even without beloved stars like Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Tyrese Proctor, the Blue Devils will be just fine in the upcoming season. Usual top-tier opponents like the UNC Tar Heels have struggled to keep up with Scheyer's recruiting pace and aren't projected to be contenders even in the ACC next season.
Not to mention, point guard Caleb Foster is returning for another year at Duke, bringing the necessary experience to a relatively young roster.
The Blue Devils will face a gauntlet of tough non-conference opponents, perfectly building their strength of schedule before heading into ACC play, a conference that has just one other team in ESPN's way-too-early Top 25.