Duke already knew that its fleet of talented 2024-25 freshmen were going to be NBA Draft picks in June.
The Blue Devils just lost another star to the draft, though.
Cedric Coward announced on Saturday that he's forgoing the rest of his college career and heading to the league.
Coward never actually played for Duke. He transferred this offseason from Washington State but impressed so much in the draft process that he stayed in as an early entrant.
"This is the best opportunity for me to achieve part of my dream, which is making the NBA," Coward told ESPN. "Everything is pointing in the right direction right now to follow that."
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Coward only played six games for WSU this past season before a partially torn shoulder labrum ended his season.
In that time, he averaged 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 40 percent from 3.
"NBA teams learned that the injury wasn't a setback," Coward told ESPN. "I got better and became more profound in all the different details of my game. I improved tremendously in aspects that I needed to work on, which showed in my athletic testing and shooting. I'm stronger mentally, physically and emotionally now."
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Coward started his college journey at Division III Willamette. He then went to Eastern Washington before joining Washington State.
ESPN projects Coward as a late first-round pick.
"I see myself as a draft pick," Coward told ESPN. "I'm looking for a team that wants to take a chance on me. I've gotten really positive feedback. A lot of teams have been coy, not showing exactly how they feel. It doesn't matter if it's a guarantee or not, there's still work ahead of me. There are only 59 picks. If I am fortunate to be one of those 59, it's all a blessing. If I am 1 or 59, it doesn't really matter. There's always work to be done. It doesn't matter what spot. It's more about what team will give me the opportunity to show what I can do on the court."
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