Duke Blue Devils: loaded for 2017 NBA Draft
The Duke Blue Devils may have as many as four players selected in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft.
For the Duke Blue Devils and for the rest of us it is too early to be thinking of the 2017 NBA Draft. After just finishing a rather strange 2016 NBA Draft who needs more draft talk? Apparently Sam Vecenie over at CBS Sports does. Vecenie just released his way to early mock draft for 2017 and there is one thing that is clear from his creation.
That one thing is that the 2017 Draft is the Duke draft. He has a number of Duke players going in his mock first round. You can start at the top where freshman Harry Giles resides as the first overall pick. That is only the tip of the iceberg.
Within the lottery you can find Jayson Tatum holding the six spot. Tatum is a player that could fit in an NBA of smaller but more skilled power forwards. Just south of the lottery you can find Grayson Allen with a projected ranking of 18th. That is of course if Allen does not decide to come back for his senior season.
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The final spot in this too early first round went to Marques Bolden, the most recent addition to Duke’s signing class. Vecenie was a little concerned that Bolden would not get enough playing time behind Giles, Tatum, and possibly Amile Jefferson, but he put him there none the less.
Four first round picks is a pretty good thing to go on. It brings memory of some Kentucky drafts and the number of Tar Heels in the lottery after the 2005 Championship. If you wanted some indication that Duke has the horses to win the basketball national title this year then this could help you.
Next: Brandon Ingram taken 2nd
It is still strange to think of Duke as the new repository of one-and-done talents. For so long it seemed Coach Mike Krzyzewski fought against the idea. Now we have seen Jabari Parker, Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor, and Brandon Ingram. It just is not that unusual anymore.