When the NBA Draft arrives, two ACC stars are expected to go inside the top five. Duke Blue Devils big man Cameron Boozer and North Carolina Tar Heels front-court star Caleb Wilson. While there is a great chance one could go after another, Jon Scheyer knows his program is in a far better spot than his rivals'. This was illustrated in Jeremy Woo's 2025-26 combined NBA Draft rankings for ESPN.com.
Woo built his article around the premise of former Duke star Cooper Flagg reclassifying. He enrolled in Durham a year early. The Dallas Mavericks star just won NBA Rookie of the Year. Had he been part of the 2026 NBA Draft instead of in 2025, he still would have gone No. 1. Woo used both drafts' players, combined them, and made it into something special. It adds to Duke's superiority over UNC.
These are the top 10 picks in Woo's combined 2025/2026 NBA Draft. Duke would beat out UNC, 3-1.
- Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (Dallas Mavericks)
- BYU Cougars small forward AJ Dybantsa (TBD)
- Kansas Jayhawks point guard/shooting guard Darryn Peterson (TBD)
- Duke Blue Devils power forward/center Cameron Boozer (TBD)
- Rutgers Scarlet Knights point guard/shooting guard Dylan Harper (San Antonio Spurs)
- North Carolina Tar Heels power forward/center Caleb Wilson (TBD)
- Baylor Bears shooting guard VJ Edgecombe (Philadelphia 76ers)
- Rutgers Scarlet Knights shooting guard/small forward Ace Bailey (Utah Jazz)
- Illinois Fighting Illini point guard/shooting guard Keaton Wagler (TBD)
- Duke Blue Devils shooting guard/small forward Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Hornets)
Not only does Flagg still go No. 1, but Boozer comes off the board two picks before Wilson does. He would be the fourth player taken behind Flagg, BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, and Kansas guard Darryn Peterson. Wilson is the sixth pick in this exercise after Flagg, Dybantsa, Peterson, Boozer, and former Rutgers star Dylan Harper, now of the San Antonio Spurs. Duke also gets Kon Knueppel in at No. 10.
Scheyer can use Flagg, Knueppel, and Boozer's success at Duke to continue to separate from UNC.
Jon Scheyer continues to attract the right high-end players for his team
No matter what Boozer, Flagg, or Knueppel become in their blossoming NBA careers, the fact remains that Duke continues to put forth blue-chip prospects every year into the draft. North Carolina has had plenty of great players over the years. Wilson could be one of them. However, the Tar Heels have not had the same track record of NBA Draft success as Duke has had of late. This might not be changing.
Even with former Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone taking over in Chapel Hill, he has to adjust to the college game. He was an excellent head coach at basketball's highest level for a long time, only to be fired not that long after winning an NBA Finals. Wilson never played for him, but these rankings from Woo go to show how consistently inconsistent North Carolina was under Hubert Davis.
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So what does this this mean for Duke? It could suggest that the Blue Devils will eventually get over the top to win their first national title in a post-Mike Krzyzewski era. Coach K won five in his illustrious coaching career, but 2015 is starting to feel like ancient history. The first thing Coach K did to help get over the top was to coach up and develop his high-end talent. Scheyer is already doing that.
To put it bluntly, Duke's best still seems to be out of reach for UNC. Yes, Isaiah Evans going in the 20s will likely be matched by Henri Veesaar, just like Boozer and Wilson will effectively cancel each other out. However, the notion that Flagg and Knueppel are well on their way to being NBA stars just goes to show how much better of a spot Duke is comparatively to North Carolina. They are recruiting tools.
Do not be surprised if Scheyer sees another one of his former Duke players go top five next summer.
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