Two More Duke Basketball Talents Set to Leave Durham

Last week, sophomore big man Christian Reeves entered the transfer portal, becoming the first Duke basketball player to announce his departure this offseason. Sophomore forward Mark Mitchell followed suit earlier this week. And then on Friday, two Blue Devils announced their decisions to forgo their remaining eligibility by declaring early for the NBA Draft.

Freshman guard Jared McCain revealed his decision late Friday morning with the following video message he posted on social media:

Thank you Duke 💙💙 pic.twitter.com/f37CYRlH7S
— Jared Mccain (@J_mccain_24) April 12, 2024

Roughly an hour later, sophomore forward Kyle Filipowski, also a projected lottery pick in the eyes of some, did the same with this post:

Always love 💙 pic.twitter.com/LF1W1iFY8K
— Kyle “Flip” Filipowski (@kylefilipowski) April 12, 2024

Filipowski and McCain were the 2023-24 Duke basketball team's two leading scorers at 16.4 and 14.3 points per game, respectively. Plus, they were the only two to play and start every game for the Blue Devils, who finished 27-9 overall and reached the Elite Eight before falling to NC State in Dallas.

As things stand, the Duke basketball program has 13 scholarship talents potentially on tap for the 2024-25 campaign between the six incoming freshmen and the seven 2023-24 Blue Devils with eligibility remaining who have not, at least for now, entered the transfer portal or declared for the draft.

However, chances are third-year head coach Jon Scheyer and his crew will lose one or more of the seven possible returnees to the transfer portal and replace them with transfer additions. Thus far, there's been only one report of a player definitely planning to stick around in sophomore guard Tyrese Proctor.

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