Duke University basketball players Jared McCain, one-and-done, and Kyle Filipovski, two-and-done, appear certain to hear their names in the first round of the NBA Draft on June 26th. Not surprisingly, the Blue Devils pair were among the 78 players drafted. The league announced Friday invitations to the NBA Draft Combine, which will be held in Chicago from May 12-19.
Related: Latest mock draft shows only one Duke product in the lottery.
However, despite rarely appearing in mock drafts, a third early draftee from Duke University became senior captain and fourth-year starting guard Jeremy Roach. But unlike Mr. McCain and Mr. Filipovski, Mr. Roach left open the possibility of returning to college for an extra year of eligibility and a desire to experiment with draft territory.
Additionally, he entered the transfer portal on April 16 and committed to Baylor five days later.
Now, there's another reason to assume Roach will withdraw his name from the NBA Draft, perhaps well before the NCAA-imposed May 29 eligibility deadline. The 22-year-old was a two-year captain for Duke University basketball and was named to the All-ACC Third Team last season, but is among more than 100 early draft participants who are not on the NBA Draft Combine invite list. included in.
Although they ultimately didn't make the list above, there's still a path for Roach and others to earn invitations, as outlined by the NBA.
“Additionally, several outstanding players selected from the 2024 NBA G League Elite Camp, to be held May 10-11 at Wintrust Arena, will be invited to the 2024 NBA Draft Combine following that event.”
Jeremy Roach, Jared McCain and Kyle Filipovski are just three of the nine Blue Devils leaving Durham with eligibility remaining this offseason. Like Roach, six others also entered the transfer portal.
Related: Duke transfer Sean Stewart to Big Ten
Overall, the mass departure of talent has paved the way for Duke's top-ranked, six-tier recruiting class, with returning backcourt weapons Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster, plus Malik Brown to date. and Mason Gillis, two signed inbound transfers.
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