It’s rare enough to be underlined: for the first time since 2017, duke manages to keep his leading scorer from the previous year on campus for an additional season.
Top scorer for the Blue Devils this season when he was only a “freshman”, Kyle Filipowski (15.1 points and 8.9 rebounds) actually announced on Tuesday that he was coming back to play his “sophomore” season, like Tyrese Proctor, but unlike Dereck Lively II, registered in the Draft and therefore leaving for the NBA.
A decision that may surprise since “Flip” was fairly unanimously projected by the American media as a future “first-round pick” (18th at The Athletic, in particular), but which illustrates the reality of the university championship today. A reality in which the “one-and-done”, as crazy as it may seem especially with a program like Duke, tends to become obsolete, with the emergence of the NIL in particular.
Duke, headliner in 2023/24?
This is obviously excellent news for Jon Scheyer, who therefore retains three of his starters from the past season (Filipowski, Proctor and also Mark Mitchell, also back for his “sophomore” season), while still awaiting the decision of leader Jeremy Roach, who signed up for the Draft to test his rating, while leaving himself an opportunity to return to college if he wishes.
Not to mention that Duke is also preparing to welcome a huge new crop of “freshmen”: Sean Stewart (#13 in the high school class of 2023), Jared McCain (#15), Caleb Foster (#17) and TJ Power (# 20).
The workforce of the Blue Devils is plethoric, one of the best in the country on paper even if, as often, many players are “freshmen” and therefore lack experience. Still, it now seems certain that the Durham program will start the 2023/24 season on the podium of the first AP Top 25…
A return that leads to the departure of Mackenzie Mgbako
On the other hand, the good news of the day inevitably meant the announcement of bad news in Durham: the departure of Mackenzie Mgbako. Ranked 7th among the best high school students of the 2023 promotion, the strong winger was to take over from Kyle Filipowski in the Blue Devils’ five major, in the event that the latter entered the Draft after his season. “freshmen”.
After the announcement of his return, “Mack” therefore unsurprisingly immediately announced his withdrawal from the program, because he would have been blocked in the rotation. Not ideal, for a player already in the Draft 2024 “lottery”…
His recruitment is therefore open again, and he will be greatly courted. The first rumors on this subject evoke the tracks of Louisville and… of North Carolina, the rival of Duke. The option of Team Ignite in the G-League is certainly also to be considered.
