There has been no movement with the Duke basketball roster yet despite Darren Harris saying that his ‘plan’ is to return to the program immediately after its loss to Houston in the Final Four.
While Harris would be a key player to retain for the Blue Devils, and it’s very unlikely to keep Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach, the attention turns to Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba II and the decisions each player will make this offseason.
Ngongba, after continuing to recover from a foot injury suffered in high school that limited his time on the court early in the season, showed a lot of promise late in the year while getting an extended role after the injury to Maliq Brown.
The former 4-star recruit seems to be poised to become the starting center next season and create one of the most talented frontcourts in the nation with 5-star recruit Cameron Boozer.
Evans, on the other hand, is a much different story. When he was on the court, he was electric and his play sparked conversations if he could make the jump to the NBA after just one season in college.
The North Carolina native played just 13.7 minutes per game while posting 6.8 points on 41.6-percent shooting from 3-point range. However, it was usually feast or famine for Evans. Either he couldn’t miss or was struggling to make shots.
Still, he’s generated enough buzz to land in the first round of several NBA mock drafts that were published on Tuesday morning after the National Championship.
Sports Illustrated was the most well-known outlet that had Isaiah Evans as high as No. 26 in its two-round mock draft while Bleacher Report had the Duke freshman just outside the first round at No. 37.
ESPN’s mock draft landed him at No. 44 and were much lower on the 6-foot-6 wing than others.
There are some notable flaws in Evans’ game that would cause him to struggle in the NBA, or the G-League, next season like his slender frame and defensive abilities. He also didn’t showcase any abilities during his season at Duke to handle the ball or drive to the basket.
Of his 183 shot attempts this season, 149 of them were from 3-point range (81.4-percent), yet some NBA franchise could value his limitless range and ability to space the floor.
Would it be enough to pry him away from Duke? There is also the conversation that must happen involving the projected amount of his rookie contract compared to an NIL deal with the Blue Devils.
It’s one of the biggest offseason decisions for the Duke basketball team and there has not been any clarity provided yet.