Two of Duke’s stars are heading to the NBA draft.
Both Jared McCain and Kyle Filipowski announced Friday that they were declaring for the 2024 NBA draft. Neither player’s decision is a surprise; both players were first-round picks in Yahoo Sports’ latest mock draft.
Filipowski could be the higher pick of the two as Krysten Peek had him going to the Sacramento Kings at No. 14 overall. The 7-footer can stretch the floor at times, though he shot only 35% from the 3-point line overall. Filipowski led Duke with 16 points per game and shot 56% from inside the arc.
He started all 72 of Duke’s games over the past two seasons and played a vital role for the Blue Devils ever since he arrived on campus. He led the team in rebounding in each of the past two seasons and improved his shooting numbers significantly in 2023-24. Filipowski’s potential serious knee injury during a court-storming at Wake Forest could have been one of the biggest stories of the college basketball season but he returned four days later to play 29 minutes in a win over Louisville.
McCain, projected as the No. 22 pick in our latest mock draft, came to Duke as the No. 12 recruit in the high school class of 2023. He averaged 14 points and five rebounds a game as a freshman and shot over 41% from behind the arc on high volume. McCain led the Blue Devils with 5.8 attempts per game from the 3-point line.
McCain was Duke’s go-to scorer in its second-round win over James Madison and its Elite Eight loss to NC State. He was 8 of 11 from behind the arc and scored 30 against the Dukes before scoring 32 points in the loss to the Wolfpack. Filipowski scored just 11 points in that game and fouled out.
With both players heading to the NBA draft, Duke doesn’t have to look hard for replacements. The Blue Devils have the No. 1 recruiting class in the country signed for 2024 and its six-player group includes four five-star freshmen. High school player of the year Cooper Flagg is committed to Duke along with five-star center Khaman Maluach, Isaiah Evans and Kon Knueppel. All four of those top recruits should see immediate playing time with the departures of Filipowski, McCain, senior Jeremy Roach and the transfer of sophomore forward Mark Mitchell.
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