After a disappointing end to a great season for the Duke Blue Devils, they began to rebuild and revamp a brand-new roster. After losing to the Houston Cougars in the Final Four, freshman phenom Cooper Flagg entered the NBA Draft alongside his teammates Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach.
Duke’s roster was put together to win a National Championship, as they had the best player in the country, Flagg, and one of the biggest lineups in the country, but they still fell short.
Key Additions for Duke
Key bench player Sion James will also not be on the team next season as he no longer has eligibility remaining. Head Coach John Scheyer will have a busy offseason, as he needs to recruit and utilize the transfer portal to keep Duke competitive and make it to the National Championship for the first time since 2015, when they defeated the Wisconsin Badgers.
Despite losing some crucial players, including three starters, the Blue Devils do have some talented freshman coming in. Next season, the Blue Devils will have Cameron and Cayden Boozer (son of former NBA player Carlos Boozer), Nikolas Khamenia, and Shelton Henderson.
In addition to those talented freshmen, four-star small forward Cedric Coward committed to Duke from the transfer portal after spending time with the Eastern Washington Eagles and, more recently, the Washington State Cougars. Coward is Duke’s first addition in the transfer portal as they look to build out this roster.
What Cedric Coward Brings to Blue Devils
The 6’6″ forward had a career season in his senior season, averaging 17.7 points and seven rebounds a game. He can also score at all three levels, shooting 55.7% from the field and 40% from three.
Defensively, he can also contribute, as he averaged nearly a steal per game (0.8) and 1.7 blocks. The Duke Crazies will love watching Coward next season, as he can contribute greatly on both sides of the court.
With rosters not finalized and summer and fall practices just a few months away, there is no definitive role for Coward. However, Coward spoke to the media recently and seems to be the ultimate team player. He just wants to win and does not care about his individual statistics.
He mentions, “I like to win… I don’t care if I gotta score 40 minutes or 4 points.”
Scheyer and his staff already seem to have struck gold with the addition of Coward. He puts his team first and seems like the ultimate competitor. He can also contribute both offensively and defensively.
Also, as an older player, he will be a great veteran presence for the locker room and help develop and prepare both Boozer twins and the other incoming freshmen. Despite this upcoming season being his first and last season with the Blue Devils, expect a big role for Coward and for Scheyer to look to him as a leader.
Coward also mentioned there are killers on this team and the shortest player on the team is 6’4″. Once again, it looks like the Blue Devils will be a team with great size that should benefit them greatly defensively as well as the rebounding department.
KEEP READING: 2025 Men’s College Basketball Transfer Portal Tracker
Who knows if Duke can make it back to the Final Four.
However, they may have the roster to do it if the Boozer twins are as advertised. Also, if Coward can continue his success from Washington State into the ACC, then watch out for Duke to not only win the ACC once again, but also make a national championship run.
Their roster is not finalized and still need another addition or two in the transfer portal. However, Coward was a great start and the fact that he is a team player and hungry to win, should make Duke fans ecstatic.
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