Duke Basketball: Maybe Only Two Blue Devils Bolt Early Next Year

One recent 2024 mock draft generally differs from others in its forecast for Duke basketball talents.

A significant theme of Jon Scheyer's second offseason as Duke basketball head coach has been improved retention of five-stars and projected draft picks for more than one season in Durham. Although the Blue Devils lost two first-year guys to the pro ranks, Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead, that number could have been as high as five.

Next year might present a similar challenge, yet this time between a mix of rookies and the star-studded returning sophomores.

While there are probably no top-five picks on the Duke roster, many recent 2024 mock drafts have three or four Blue Devils going in the first round. And those three or four could include any of the following five players: sophomores Kyle Filipowski, Tyrese Proctor, and Mark Mitchell, plus newcomers Jared McCain and Caleb Foster.

Also, freshman forward Sean Stewart has popped up on a mock draft or two this summer.

However, this month's way-too-early 2024 mock first-round from FanNation's NBA Draft on SI.com is either not so high on the likes of Mitchell, McCain, Foster, and Stewart or doesn't foresee any of those four Blue Devils bolting early come spring.

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On that mock draft, projected 2023-24 Duke basketball starting point guard Tyrese Proctor checks in at No. 18 to the New York Knicks (teams' projected draft order determined by Tankathon). Meanwhile, the reigning ACC Rookie of the Year, 7-foot forward Kyle Filipowski, comes off the board at No. 20 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Should that more or less prove accurate concerning drafted Blue Devils, it would mark the first time since 2021 and only the third time since 2014 that the Duke basketball program hasn't produced at least one lottery pick in a draft.

Of course, if such a scenario plays out due to an abundance of announced returns, it could signal that all of the decisions to stick around this year, which understandably pleasantly surprised some Blue Devil faithful, constituted more than just a fluke.

Granted, so much can and will change, especially for all the heralded first-year collegians, between now and stay-or-go decision time in the months following the season.

📸 Frosh 4️⃣ pic.twitter.com/5KNwHBPZ5u

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) August 15, 2023

The 2023-24 Duke basketball campaign tips off at home against Dartmouth on Nov. 6. Scheyer's second batch of Blue Devils, featuring eight returning scholarship players and four five-star rookies, figures to begin the season among the top three in the preseason AP Top 25 and as the favorite to win the ACC.

Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country on SI.com for daily doses of Duke basketball news.