Explaining the fast rise of Duke commit Cedric Coward’s NBA Draft stock

When Cedric Coward committed to Duke, the public perception was that he locked in a baseline offer to request from NBA teams during the pre-draft process. That quickly changed at the combine this month, and he is closer to the lottery than any second-round debate over staying and going.

The question remains, what changed? In reality, not that much, but the perception took a drastic turn.

Coward missed a large portion of the 2024-25 season at Washington State, suffering a shoulder injury. While on the floor, he averaged 17.7 points and 7 rebounds with 3.7 assists while shooting 55.7% from the field, 40% on 3-pointers and 83.9% on free throws.

This followed up a strong season at Eastern Washington in 2023-24, when he averaged 15.4 and 6.7 rebounds on 56.5, 38.3, 89.5 splits. All this led to the offseason, where he became a hot commodity for teams at every level.

Cedric Coward draft stock

Throughout the season, Coward’s draft stock shifted. After starting somewhere on the more to watch category, he moved up into the second-round conversation. He slowly drifted down after the injury, understandably, when others continued putting data on the table.

Once the season concluded, more deep dives into tape and conversations with smart basketball people started to raise Coward’s name back into the mix. He fits the mold of a classic two-way wing, which every franchise wants to place beside its star.

Furthermore, he was in the transfer portal. That warranted more evaluation, which again showed positive feedback and left him choosing between blue-blood programs at the conclusion of his recruitment.

As mentioned, Coward committed to Duke while going through the NBA Draft process. This led to the culmination of extra research, more conversations, and tangible data at the combine.

Measuring 6-foot-5.25 with a 7-foot-2.25 wingspan, he quickly looked the part. Although recovering from injury, he checked every box from the floor to the interviews. By the end of the week, Duke was already lining up visits for potential replacements. It is clear that Coward has moved from a potential tough decision to a potential lottery pick.

He might not have actually moved so far on team boards, at least the ones who already did their deep dive into his makeup. After all, Coward has not put forward any new information to break down like many others who first passed him, then dipped back below.

On the other side, some scouts certainly saw the combine buzz and turned the tape back on. Regardless of how he got there, Cedric Coward is now a coveted NBA prospect.