Roster building in college basketball is always fluid. Jon Scheyer has done great work with retention during his time at Duke, but he could ultimately be facing his biggest rebuild as the head coach of the Blue Devils this offseason.
Along with both Darren Harris and Nikolas Khamenia entering the Transfer Portal - and they likely won't be the only two - Duke has four players pondering NBA Draft decisions.
National Player of the Year Cameron Boozer is as good as gone, but the futures of Isaiah Evans, Patrick Ngongba, and Dame Sarr remain up in the air. Duke fans are bracing for losing two or three, but if Jeremy Woo's latest big board on ESPN is accurate of the consensus, they might want to be prepared to lose all four.
Duke could lose four players to the 2026 NBA Draft
Boozer comes in at No. 3 on Woo's board, behind BYU's AJ Dybantsa and Kansas' Darryn Peterson. That is the consensus top three, in whatever order. Your mileage may vary, but only one of them was the National Player of the Year. Food for thought for NBA GMs.
Boozer's standing comes as little surprise.
Evans, who has been projected as a late first-round pick, comes in at No. 21 on Woo's board. That spot would almost certainly tempt Evans to not only declare, but stay in and begin his NBA career. Evans will likely test the waters, and his performance in pre-draft workouts could send him up the board, or potentially back to Duke.
The third player from Duke in the rankings is a surprise; it's not Ngongba, but Sarr. The freshman wing comes in at No. 31, which would be the first player selected in the second round. Sarr has been seen as a second-round pick, but if Woo thinks he's that close to the first round, he could declare for the draft, go through the process, and potentially solidify himself as a first-round pick. Sarr has the 3-and-D traits that are coveted by the NBA.
Ngongba has generally been seen in the 20-30 range, but he comes in at No. 34. The sophomore center could return for another season and turn a big year into a lottery selection, but his history of foot issues could force him to strike now and not risk another injury that throws up another red flag for NBA teams.
Woo's big board paints a terrifying picture of a bigger roster rebuild than Duke fans initially hoped for. Scheyer will have to prepare for a scenario in which he loses all four of his NBA prospects this offseason.