Duke basketball sees third 5-star recruit depart program this offseason

The departures from the Duke basketball roster are coming quickly this offseason as the Blue Devils have lost its third former 5-star recruit of the offseason.

Kyle Filipowski announced his decision to enter the 2024 NBA Draft via social media on Friday afternoon.

The announcement came just minutes after freshman Jared McCain declared his intentions to opt for the professional route after staying just one season in Durham.

Mark Mitchell and Christian Reeves, both of whom entered Duke in the same recruiting class as Filipowski, entered their names into the transfer portal earlier this week.

The decision from Filipowski was expected after he announced his return to the Blue Devils following his sophomore season. Due to roster limitations, the 7-footer was playing out of position throughout the season, logging minutes at center rather than his natural position of power forward.

Nevertheless, he saw his numbers increase during his second year in Durham, averaging 16.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game on 50.5-percent shooting from the floor, earning him the honor of being a consensus Second Team All-American.

He was also named as Duke's Most Valuable Player at the team's awards banquet on Thursday night.

The one area of Filipowski's game that improved the most was his 3-point shooting, something that NBA teams desperately wanted to see. He shot just 28.2-percent from distance last season compared to 34.8-percent this year.

Kyle Filipowski is projected as a lottery pick in this June's NBA Draft and could thrive in the current form of the league as a stretch power forward that has size and the ability to shoot from the perimeter.

Duke is still awaiting the future decisions on a handful of players from its current roster but the only one who will chose between the Blue Devils and NBA Draft is Jeremy Roach, who tested the draft waters last season before returning to Durham.

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