By ADAM ZAGORIA
Tyrese Proctor will return to Duke for his junior season, sources told ZAGSBLOG, while freshman guard Jared McCain and sophomore forward Kyle Filipowski announced Friday they are declaring for the NBA Draft.
Proctor, the 6-foot-5 Australian guard, averaged 10.5 points, 3.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds for the Blue Devils this past season.
McCain, a 6-3 Sacramento native, averaged 14.3 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 41% from deep. He set a Duke program record with eight 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game in a win over Duquesne.
The 7-foot Filipowski averaged 16.4 points and 8.3 rebounds.
Both are projected first-round picks, per ESPN.com.
Thank you Duke 💙💙 pic.twitter.com/f37CYRlH7S
— Jared Mccain (@J_mccain_24) April 12, 2024
Duke's Kyle Filipowski declares for the NBA Draft.
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) April 12, 2024
He's a projected first-round pick https://t.co/VOulZGT8UI
Duke is bringing in the No. 1-ranked recruiting class led by projected 2025 No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg and projected No. 3 pick Khaman Maluach.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer said during the NCAA Tournament he plans to continue Duke’s recent tradition of recruiting one-and-dones but understands you have to balance the roster with older players.
“Well, it’s an art form,” he said. “I don’t think it’s an exact science, right. And when you recruit, especially in today’s day and age, there’s so much uncertainty, especially for us, at least, when you have multiple players that have a chance to hopefully go pro at some point.
“So everybody has their own journey. But you know, look, for me, should I not have recruited Jared McCain because he would be a freshman? At the end of the day, you go after the guys you believe in. We’ve been a part of — since I’ve been on the staff with Coach K, these last two years that I’ve been head coach, we’ve won a National Championship with a freshman-heavy group. We’ve gone to two Elite 8s where you’re right there.
“This group, certainly helps to have a [junior in] Jeremy Roach. The ‘15 team had Quinn Cook. There has to be some balance of course.”
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