Duke transfer Cedric Coward keeping name in 2025 NBA Draft

Cedric Coward will keep his name in the 2025 NBA Draft, he told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Coward committed to Duke out of the NCAA transfer portal in April after playing one season at Washington State.

Coward played just six games for the Cougars during the 2024-25 season before suffering a partially torn shoulder labrum, which ended his season. He was averaging 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game before the injury.

“Even though I am staying in the draft, I picked Duke for a reason,” Coward told ESPN. “I feel like I’m halfway in the brotherhood. This was a difficult decision at first, but after the Combine it became a lot easier with the path I wanted to take. This was always the main goal. Even if I went to Duke, it would have been in order to get to this level. I feel like I am ready. It didn’t hurt that I did pretty well at the Combine.”

Coward appears to have received positive feedback from NBA scouts following last week’s annual event. He said that teams were able to realize that his injury “wasn’t a setback,” and that he used the time off to hone the details of his game.

“I improved tremendously in aspects that I needed to work on, which showed in my athletic testing and shooting. I’m stronger mentally, physically and emotionally now,” he told ESPN.

Coward had an interesting journey to becoming a potential first-round draft choice, however. He began his collegiate career at the Division III level at Willamette University in 2021. Coward later transferred to Eastern Washington University where he spent two years before moving to Washington State.

He was one of the top players in this year’s NCAA transfer portal cycle, and was expected to be an instant impact performer for the Blue Devils had he stayed in college. Instead, he’ll forgo his final season of eligibility to turn pro ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft.

The 6 foot 6 Coward boasted impressive measurables at the combine, and proved himself as one of the best shooters at the entire event. As it stands, Coward has largely been projected to be drafted in the late first to early second round next month.

“I’m looking for a team that wants to take a chance on me. I’ve gotten really positive feedback. A lot of teams have been coy, not showing exactly how they feel,” Coward said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a guarantee or not, there’s still work ahead of me.”