Latest Mock Draft Shows Only One Duke Basketball Product in Lottery

Duke basketball's Kyle Filipowski and Jared McCain aren't locks to wind up in the top half of the first round.

Duke basketball forward Kyle Filipowski and guard Jared McCain / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Picks 1-14 in the NBA Draft are of the lottery variety. And there's a chance that both early draft entrants from the Duke basketball program, sophomore forward Kyle Filipowski and freshman guard Jared McCain, come off the board among those picks.

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However, perhaps an equal probability exists for one or both of those Blue Devils to fall to 15 or lower at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 26. Plus, judging by the mixed results across the multitude of recent mock drafts, there's no telling whether the 7-foot Filipowski hears his name before the sharpshooting McCain or vice versa.

On Thursday morning, FanNation's Draft Digest on SI released the first May edition of its mock draft. It has Filipowski going to the Portland Trail Blazers at No. 14 (via the Golden State Warriors) and McCain heading to the Miami Heat with the No. 15 overall selection.

Thank you Duke 💙💙 pic.twitter.com/f37CYRlH7S

— Jared Mccain (@J_mccain_24) April 12, 2024

So, they're sitting in back-to-back positions but with Filipowski as the lone lottery pick of the two.

Kyle Filipowski is a great passing big man and is comfortably one of the best passing bigs in this year’s draft.

He can make just about every pass possible, he has an advanced feel for the game and his vision at 7-feet is quite impressive.

He’s a very quick processor and… pic.twitter.com/Vr7azJvVVt

— Global Scouting (@GlobalScouting_) April 26, 2024

At least one Blue Devil has become a lottery pick in each of the past two years and in all but two (2020, 2021) of the past 10.

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that senior guard Jeremy Roach, who has announced his transfer to Baylor for his extra year of eligibility, remains an early draft entrant. That said, the assumption is he'll withdraw his name from that list before the May 29 deadline to retain NCAA eligibility. After all, the four-year Duke basketball starter doesn't appear in either the first or second round of seemingly any mock draft out there.

Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country on SI for more Duke basketball news.