The Duke basketball program and its fans are still holding onto hope to get Washington State stud transfer Cedric Coward back to college basketball next season, but those odds seem to be lessening by the day.
One of the top guards in the portal, Coward committed to Duke over Alabama, but his main priority always remained on the 2025 NBA Draft. Duke would just be the program Coward would attend if he were to return to school.
Early on after he announced his pledge to Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils, most Duke fans felt confident that Coward would bypass the NBA Draft and return to college next season, as he was seen as a mid-second-round guy with little real first-round buzz. But as time has gone on, Coward's draft stock has continued to rise.
Following a stellar shooting performance at the NBA Combine, where Coward had tied for the fourth-highest total shooting percentage, he's starting to get a lot more attention as a legitimate first-round prospect.
Final best shooters at NBA Combine drills (aggregate of all shots). Mark Sears was scorching.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 13, 2025
83%Mark Sears
77% Chaz Lanier
73% Ryan Nembhard
73% PJ Haggerty
72% John Tonje
72% Milos Uzan
72% Cedric Coward
71% Walter Clayton
69%Koby Brea
69%Eric Dixon
69% Yaxel Lendeborg pic.twitter.com/eOABIgtO7E
Right when Coward committed to Duke, some networks didn't even have the senior on draft boards at all. But that's changed for some, so let's see where different networks have Coward slotted as of today.
ESPN - 35th overall - Philadelphia 76ers
Yahoo! Sports - 22nd overall - Atlanta Hawks
ClutchPoints - 41st overall - Golden State Warriors
Surprisingly, some networks still don't have Coward on their boards, but he's one of the more intriguing draft prospects at this point, as he's all over the place on multiple lists.
As of today, it isn't a guarantee at all that Coward will be taken in the first round, which will make his decision to opt for the NBA or return to college a very difficult one. If he hears that he will surely be taken by the middle of the second round, is that enough to sway him from returning to college, playing for a likely top-ten team, and potentially boosting his draft stock for 2026 astronomically?
Coward will not take part in the 5-on-5 scrimmages at the combine, letting his success through drills speak for itself. His decision will pay huge dividends for the Blue Devils, as if he doesn't come back to college, Scheyer will likely have to look for another talented, veteran wing through the portal to fill that void.
The Blue Devils have been linked to USC transfer Desmond Claude, and would likely pursue him much more aggressively if Coward keeps his name in the NBA Draft.