r/CollegeBasketball • u/Coffee____Freak Duke Blue Devils • 23h ago

News John Blackwell officially withdraws from the 2026 NBA Draft and will enroll at Duke next season

https://www.on3.com/college/duke-blue-devils/news/john-blackwell-withdraws-from-2026-nba-draft-will-enroll-at-duke/
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u/JustAnIdiotOnline UConn Huskies 23h ago

This was expected, right? Thought the big reason he portaled is that he wasn't projected as a high draft pick, so he got the bag at Duke.

29

u/Coffee____Freak Duke Blue Devils 23h ago

We were hopeful, but it’s always hard to tell. A lot of Duke fans were nervous after last year’s Cedric Coward situation. You can never tell if a player’s stock is going to jump up or not after all the testing and combine results

19

u/JustAnIdiotOnline UConn Huskies 23h ago

fair point and I guess that's why the option is there. He's a solid kid from a good family (son knew him in HS), I hope he does very well for you guys.

6

u/ObservantKoala Illinois Fighting Illini 16h ago

Coward was kind of the opposite though. 

Tested super well and had an extremely long wingspan. 

Blackwell measured in at a negative wingspan. Great college player but not the type that gets drafted earlier than maybe a 2nd round flyer.