Duke’s Top Two Scorers Declare for NBA Draft

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Sports Now
By Nathan Breisinger | Last updated 4/12/24

‘Tis the season of transfer portal announcements and NBA draft declarations.

Last week, Pitt freshman guard Bub Carrington announced that he is declaring for the NBA Draft during a press conference with head coach Jeff Capel.

Carrington is the first one-and-done player at the university since Steven Adams opted to forgo his final three years of eligibility in 2013.

One place that celebrates sending players to the draft traditionally is fellow ACC program and Blue Blood Duke.

On Friday, a pair of Blue Devils announced that they were joining the wave of players joining the NBA draft process.

It comes as no surprise that sophomore Kyle Filipowski announced that he is forgoing his final two seasons in Durham, N.C.

Always love pic.twitter.com/LF1W1iFY8K

— Kyle “Flip” Filipowski (@kylefilipowski) April 12, 2024

The lengthy 7-footer averaged 16.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game for the Blue Devils this season as he guided them to an Elite Eight appearance. Filipowski garnered John R. Wooden All-America Team honors as well as All-ACC First-Team status.

By many accounts, Filipowski is expected to be a first-round pick in this summer’s NBA draft.

While Filipowski stayed an additional year, freshman Jared McCain will join him after announcing his decision to leave Duke after one season on Friday.

Thank you Duke pic.twitter.com/f37CYRlH7S

— Jared Mccain (@J_mccain_24) April 12, 2024

McCain is also projected to go in the top round of the NBA draft. The 6-foot-3 guard scored 14.3 points and grabbed five rebounds per game, while sinking 41.4 percent of his shots from deep.

The Sacramento native’s draft talk has heated up following an impressive showing in the NCAA Tournament that included a pair of 30-point performances, scoring 30 against James Madison and 32 in the Elite Eight loss to NC State.

The duo of Filipowski and McCain were impressive in both performances against Pitt this season. At Pitt, Filipowski posted a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while McCain followed suit with 12 points. At Cameron Indoor a few weeks later, McCain scored 20 as ‘Flip’ added 19 in the stunning upset by Pitt over the seventh-ranked Blue Devils.

Although the Blue Devils will see two integral pieces of their 2023-24 team move on, they will merely replace them with another series of top-tier talent.

Duke will bring in the No. 1 recruiting class in 2024 with the top player in the nation in 6-foot-9 forward Cooper Flagg. He’ll be joined by additional five-star prospects Isaiah Evans, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Sports Now and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: