After not losing a scholarship player to the transfer portal, Jon Scheyer has dipped into the portal to help fill out next year’s Blue Devil roster. After a visit this past weekend, Washington State’s Cedric Coward has committed to play for Duke next season.
Coward played his first 2 seasons at Eastern Washington and last season for Washington State, having followed his coach David Riley as he accepted the head coaching role there. Coward’s season was short-lived as he suffered a season ending shoulder injury in an early season practice. Coward needed surgery for his shoulder that revealed an articular cartilage tear as well as a jagged rotator cuff and a partially torn labrum – just 6 games into the season. Coward was impressive in those 6 games for Washington State, averaging 17.7 points per game and shooting 40% from 3.
”Throughout his college career, Coward has been a model of shooting efficiency from every level of the floor, posting an impressive 66.8 percent effective field goal percentage on 524 attempts.
Brian GeisingerSplit The Action
Subscribe to Split The Action
Coward entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on April 9th and quickly became coveted my high major programs. His list included in addition to Duke: Alabama, Florida, Kansas and Washington. A 6’6, 206lb wing, Coward brings a little something different to Duke’s current roster with his ability to get into the paint, back down defenders and be physical at the rim. Cedric is also a plus defender who averaged nearly 2 blocks per game before going out with injury. While not the most physically gifted athlete, he is, however, a smart player who uses his body well on both sides of the floor. Coward is not a one-to-one replacement for the role of Kon Knueppel, but his ability to finish at the rim off of two feet and shooting should mitigate some of the impact of Knueppel’s NBA departure.
June 15 becomes an important date for the Blue Devils, as it is the deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft pool and return to school. It’s still unsure if the Blue Devils will look to add more for insurance in case Coward stays in the draft, or for added depth, but with 9 serviceable scholarship players, I can’t imagine a world where there isn’t at least one or two more additions.
