It looked like the core of the Duke basketball roster was set after Washington State transfer Cedric Coward committed to the Blue Devils over Alabama but things became cloudy on Friday when the NBA published the invitees to the NBA Draft Combine.
Not only was Coward invited, who previously stated he’s still interested in going to the NBA Draft this offseason, but so was freshman wing Isaiah Evans.
It doesn’t come as a surprise that either player was invited to the Draft Combine, although what was a shock is that Evans kept his name in the NBA Draft after publicly announcing that he would be returning to Duke for his sophomore season.
Given the exclusivity of the NBA Draft Combine, it’s possible that both players perform well during the drills and impress organizations enough to select them in the first round, putting the Blue Devil roster in peril.
Coward was tabbed as a “possible” 1st Round pick by ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony last week.
Duke is expected to enter the 2025-26 season with a Top 10 preseason ranking but all of that could be thrown out the window next week in Chicago.
Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, Khaman Maluach, Tyrese Proctor, and Sion James were also invited to participate at the NBA Combine.
The Blue Devils are bringing in another highly ranked freshman recruiting class led by Cameorn Boozer, but its returning players are one of the most important aspects of its offseason.
Duke will return Caleb Foster, Patrick Ngongba, Maliq Brown, and Darren Harris with Isaiah Evans expected to play a major role next season as well as Cedric Coward, who is the only transfer portal player committed to the program currently.
Both players will also have the chance to participate in individual workouts for teams with the withdrawal date for players to return to college while keeping their NCAA eligibility is May 28.