Combine Invites Put Duke Basketball Roster Construction in Odd State

It would be one thing if Isaiah Evans and Cedric Coward were just wishful thinkers when it comes to their chances of reaching the NBA. No, both anticipated members of the 2025-26 Duke basketball squad have been projected to come off the board this year, potentially as early as late first-rounders.

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While both are just "testing the NBA Draft waters" as early entrants and have until May 28 to withdraw their names and retain college eligibility, the fact that they've now popped up on the 75-deep invite list for the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, May 11-18, suggests the league is serious about getting a look at both for what they could achieve at that level now more so than later down the road.

In other words, the invite alone is an honor and an indication the NBA actually sees a potential draftee in Brooklyn's Barclays Center on June 25-26.

NEWS: The NBA has announced these 75 players have been invited to the Draft Combine, which will be held May 11-18 at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis in Chicago. pic.twitter.com/5xWb9oQ3FN
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) May 2, 2025

They appear on the invite sheet alongside five other Blue Devil names in confirmed one-and-done projected lottery picks Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach, plus confirmed outbound junior Tyrese Proctor, and now-graduated guard Sion James

Again, for now, other than suddenly appearing on the list of early entrants this week, Duke basketball rookie guard Isaiah Evans, a sharpshooting extraordinaire off the bench in critical moments for the 2024-25 Blue Devils, hasn't announced anything other than casually responding to the program's social media team that he plans to return to Durham for a 2025-26 sophomore campaign.

As for physical wing Cedric Coward, who recently committed to Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils for his final year of eligibility after developing into a powerful force at Eastern Washington and Washington State, he had already entered his name in the NBA Draft before announcing Duke as the winner of his recruitment in the transfer portal.

Duke is set to welcome three five-star freshmen while returning a handful of its players, albeit none of the full-time starters from last season.

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