There was a little bit of angst among the Duke fanbase recently when the NBA Draft Combine invitee list was released, and it included recent Blue Devil commitment John Blackwell.
The Wisconsin guard entered the NBA Draft at the same time he entered the Transfer Portal, a fact that most Duke fans seemingly ignored.
And when Blackwell's name popped up on the combine list, memories of Cedric Coward blasted into the forefront of their minds.
A year ago, Jon Scheyer landed Washington State transfer guard Cedric Coward in the Transfer Portal, beating out Alabama in a head-to-head recruitment. But Coward blew up in the pre-draft process and stayed in the draft instead of heading to Durham. He was ultimately a lottery pick and had a productive rookie season with the Memphis Grizzlies.
There should be little concern of lightning striking twice for the Blue Devils
John Blackwell won't blow up in the pre-draft process like Cedric Coward did
Coward had the ideal size for a 3-and-D wing at the NBA level. As talented a scorer as Blackwell is, and as big an impact as he's projected to have at Duke next season, he has some physical limitations that will hamper him at the next level.
Blackwell is listed at just 6-foot-4, which means he's probably around 6-foot-2 or 6-foot-3 without shoes on. That's a tough size for an NBA two-guard. There's a reason he wants to work on becoming a Jrue Holiday-like defender. It's his best chance of carving out an NBA role, and his size not being an issue.
Heading into next week's NBA Draft Combine, Blackwell currently sits at No. 65 on Jeremy Woo's ESPN Big Board.
That would put him just outside of the draft entirely, and even if he performs well enough to make a sizeable jump, it's unlikely that he would work his way into the first round range. As a projected 2nd Round pick, he'll make more money at Duke next season than he would fighting for an NBA roster spot.
It's obvious why Duke fans would be a bit uneasy after what happened with Coward, but the situations couldn't be more different.
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