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ESPN- NBA draft analyst and writer
Joined ESPN.com in July 2017
Founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service used by NBA, NCAA and international teams
NBA scouts and pro talent evaluators will be out in force when the Duke Blue Devils visit the Syracuse Orange on Saturday night at the Carrier Dome (6 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN app). That group will be primarily observing the work of five Duke players who appeared in or near the first round of ESPN's latest 2022 NBA mock draft: Paolo Banchero (No. 3), AJ Griffin (No. 5), Mark Williams (No. 23), Trevor Keels (No. 24) and Wendell Moore Jr. (No. 33).
While the talent of all five players is undeniable, NBA fans considering the landing spots of the quintet might be doing so with a healthy dose of skepticism. Though 32 current Duke players are active in the NBA, per Basketball-Reference, not all of the school's most heralded pro prospects have developed according to plan. Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson are all recent top-3 picks from Duke who became NBA All-Stars. Marvin Bagley III, Jahlil Okafor and Jabari Parker are recent top-3 picks who failed to become stars at the next level.
Where will Duke's five 2022 phenoms fall on that continuum? ESPN's NBA experts Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz considered the question, not only weighing on the notion of historical Duke struggles in the NBA but also evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, NBA comps and optimum NBA team fits for each of the 2022 five.