Duke fans might get an extra kick out of the list of players invited to the 2018 NBA Draft Combine. Or they might lament a good shot at an NCAA championship banner they won't get to hang at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Yahoo! Sports Shams Charania reported Friday that he had the full list, which has been sent to all NBA teams.
That list includes five Blue Devils but not a single player from the rival North Carolina Tar Heels or N.C. State Wolfpack.
Making the list from Duke are Grayson Allen, Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter Jr., Trevon Duval and Gary Trent Jr. That is essentially Duke's starting lineup from the squad that fell to Kansas a game shy of making the NCAA tournament's Final Four.
From a glance at mock drafts, all five Blue Devils are projected to be picked, most in the first round. It's also likely no other player from a Carolinas college is expected to hear his name called on draft day.
Bagley, one of four "one-and-done" freshmen from Duke on the list, is projected to go in the top five in most early mock drafts. nbadraft.net has him going to the Memphis Grizzlies with the second pick after Arizona's DeAndre Ayton.
nbadraft.net has Carter going at No. 6, Trent at No. 20, Allen at No. 26 and Duval joining Bagley in Memphis with the Grizzlies' second-round pick (No. 32 overall).
So how did this team not make the Final Four again?
One complicated case
Also on the NBA combine list is South Carolina's Brian Bowen II. But that's it for players coming from Carolinas colleges.
Bowen transferred to South Carolina from Louisville earlier this year. Bowen never played at Louisville, though there is a good chance he'll return to the Gamecocks.
At Louisville, the former McDonald's All-American was identified as the "unnamed player" that Adidas allegedly funneled money to at the request of a Cardinals coach to get him to enroll in the school.
That led to an FBI investigation and the firing of Louisville coach Rick Pitino and athletics director Tom Jurich. The Cardinals announced that Bowen wouldn't play there before the season began.
He ended up transferring to South Carolina, where, if the freshman withdraws from the draft, he'd be eligible to play in January 2019.
Bowen's declaration for the draft is seen as a precautionary move in case the NCAA doesn't make its ruling by the end of the month.
As an underclassman who hasn't signed with an agent, Bowen has until May 30 to withdraw his name and retain his college eligibility.
▪ Kansas point guard Devonte Graham, who's from Raleigh, also was invited to the NBA combine. He's considered a likely second-rounder.
More early entries
Other players from the Carolinas who submitted their names for early entry, but weren't invited to the combine, include:
- Mike Amius, Western Carolina, 6-7, junior
- Chris Clemons, Campbell, 5-9, junior
- Bryant Crawford, Wake Forest, 6-3, junior
- Jon Davis, Charlotte, 6-3, junior
- Torin Dorn, N.C. State, 6-5, junior
- Christian Keeling, Charleston Southern, 6-4, sophomore
- Fletcher Magee, Wofford, 6-4, junior
- Luke Maye, North Carolina, 6-8, junior
- Shelton Mitchell, Clemson, 6-3, junior
- Doral Moore, Wake Forest, 7-1, junior
- Marcquise Reed, Clemson, 6-3, junior
- Ronshad Shabazz, Appalachian State, 6-5, junior
- Chris Silva, South Carolina, 6-9, junior
- Andrien White, Charlotte, 6-3, junior
The combine runs May 16-20 in Chicago.
The positions for the NBA draft lottery picks will be drawn on May 15, also in Chicago.
The NBA draft takes place on June 21 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
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