NBA Mock Draft Roundup: Will Duke Have Three First-Round Picks?

While there's still plenty of time in both the college basketball season and NBA season for things to change, fans of both can't help but turning some of their attention ahead to the 2024 NBA Draft already.

The same can be said for analysts, and mock draft season is already here. Tons of experts and analysts have already put out their initial projections for the 2024 NBA Draft, and there's a big question for Duke: how many first-round picks will they have?

Let's take a look at what's being projected so far.

Duke Draft Projections: Kyle Filipowski

• Yahoo Sports: Round 1, Pick 13 (New Orleans Pelicans)
• The Ringer: Round 1, Pick 10 (Portland Trail Blazers)
• Bleacher Report: Round 1, Pick 9 (Houston Rockets)
• Tankathon: Round 1, Pick 10 (Portland Trail Blazers)
• NBA Draft Room: Round 1, Pick 11 (Chicago Bulls)

You didn't need to open this page to know that Filipowski is going to be a first-round pick, that much is obvious at this stage. But the question around his draft stock is whether he's a top-10 pick or not.

The experts think he's right on the fence at this stage, with a very small spread in the predictions, ranging from No. 9 overall to No. 13 overall.

Filipowski's skillset is going to make him a really intriguing prospect for NBA teams, who are increasingly willing to run offenses through playmaking bigs again. Filipowski isn't likely to be become a Nikola Jokic, and he won't be nearly as ball-dominant in the pros as he is for the Blue Devils, but he also shows promising defensive prowess and an ability to spread the floor and hit open 3-pointers.

That versatility is going to make him a fit on most rosters, and I think he goes to a young team looking to build for upside.

Old North Banter prediction: Round 1, Pick 10 (Portland Trail Blazers)

Tyrese Proctor

• Yahoo Sports: Does not appear in 1-round mock draft
• The Ringer: Round 1, Pick 26 (Philadelphia 76ers)
• Bleacher Report: Round 2, Pick 17 (Philadelphia 76ers)
• Tankathon: Round 1, Pick 27 (Minnesota Timberwolves)
• NBA Draft Room: Round 2, Pick 22 (San Antonio Spurs)

Here's where the projections start to really vary, with almost an entire round separating the highest and lowest projected landing spots for Tyrese Proctor. His draft stock is all over the board, and that reflects his game and how it projects to the NBA level.

When Proctor is on, anyone would be lucky to have his playmaking. He's a serious threat with the ball, both as a shockingly good passer and as a creator scoring in the midrange.

But his aggressive style has its downsides. The difference between "aggressive" and "reckless" is often simply whether the result of the play is a good one or not. And finishing an aggressive play is a whole lot harder at the NBA level, especially for a guy like Proctor who lacks elite athleticism.

He's one of those "all it takes is one team thinking they can unlock his potential" kind of guys, and I think that will be enough to get him taken in the first round.

Old North Banter prediction: Round 1, Pick 18 (New York Knicks)

Jared McCain

• Yahoo Sports: Round 1, Pick 28 (Toronto Raptors)
• The Ringer: Round 1, Pick 27 (Minnesota Timberwolves)
• Bleacher Report: Round 1, Pick 28 (Milwaukee Bucks)
• Tankathon: Round 2, Pick 3 (San Antonio Spurs)
• NBA Draft Room: Round 2, Pick 7 (New York Knicks)

There's not a unanimous opinion on whether Proctor or Jared McCain are the better pro prospect. Three of five highlighted sources have McCain going ahead of Proctor, and more have McCain as a first round pick (3) than Proctor (2).

The spread on McCain's draft stock is also much lower, ranging from No. 27 overall to No. 37 overall.

That makes sense, considering McCain's shooting is almost certainly going to translate. Hitting 41.5% from deep on 5.2 attempts per game is terrific for a freshman guard, and he can do it off the pull-up or the catch-and-shoot.

He's not an especially long 6-foot-3, however, and he doesn't have the kind of quickness that makes up for a lack of length. He'll give NBA teams all the hustle they need on defense, but sometimes physical limitations are just too much on that end.

Old North Banter prediction: Round 2, Pick 7 (Minnesota Timberwolves)