The NBA Draft Decisions That Could Affect Duke

With the NBA Draft combine complete, Duke fans are anxiously awaiting official confirmation that John Blackwell will indeed arrive in Durham this summer. Despite their being no indications to the contrary, last year’s experience with Cedric Coward has seemingly left a scar for many Blue Devil fans. But where Coward wowed scouts with his measurables and shooting last year, Blackwell posted a negative wingspan and a so-so overall combine performance.

It’s only a matter of time before he officially withdraws from the draft. However, there are plenty of stars on Duke’s schedule that have more difficult decisions in front of them. These start with the Blue Devils’ most recently announced marquee matchup against Illinois.

Retaining Andrej Stojaković is key for a team with a claim to pre-season No. 1: the Fighting Illini return the entirety of the strong frontcourt that led them to a Final Four, but Stojaković is the only major returnee on the perimeter. While it was widely assumed Stojaković was merely going through the draft process to get feedback—he officially announced a return to Illinois, after all—his positive athletic testing at the combine left some doubt.

He also elected not to participate in the combine scrimmages (unlike Blackwell), which has historically been an indicator that a prospect is secure in his draft status. Whether the allure of college NIL has changed that calculus—and players for sure returning to college are choosing not to risk injury—is yet to be seen. Another decision with potentially seismic impact on the college basketball landscape is that of Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu, who Duke might potentially face in an ACC-SEC Challenge matchup (who thinks ESPN would turn down a matchup of likely pre-season Top 3 teams?