The Duke Blue Devils had their strongest roster yet under Jon Scheyer last season. The opportunity to win a national championship was within reach—especially during the Final Four matchup against Houston—but ultimately, the team's inexperience became its downfall.
Some even claim that John Fanta jinxed the team by prematurely calling the game in Duke’s favor before it was over. This added an ironic twist to the heartbreak that followed Duke’s loss.
“Duke has Cooper Flagg. Houston does not. We’re just about done here,” Fanta wrote.
As expected, Cooper Flagg declared for the NBA Draft, where he’s widely projected to be the No. 1 overall pick this June.
“Duke fans, my teammates, the brotherhood, and everybody that was along for this journey, it was an incredible year. Probably the best year of my life. I have so much gratitude, I feel so blessed for all the opportunities I was given. Duke has always been a dream for me and I’m excited to announce I will be entering my name in the 2025 NBA Draft,” Flagg announced.
Duke is one of only two teams in all of college basketball that didn’t lose a single player to the transfer portal. Scheyer did land a major portal addition in Washington State transfer Cedric Coward, but he might not make it to campus as his NBA draft stock continues to rise.
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“If all of these scouts are on him like this… I think he’s going to get picked higher than [No. 29 overall] just based on my conversations,” NBA insider Zach Lowe said.
That kind of buzz makes it very compelling for a prospect to declare, especially if he's projected as a first-round pick. Coward could become a key piece of another dominant Duke squad—or he might see his dream of reaching the NBA realized even sooner. Duke has already been ranked No. 1 in The Sporting News' way-too-early Top 25. However, only time will tell whether Coward ever plays a game in a Blue Devils uniform.