Duke basketball duo gets invited to NBA Draft with eyes on Top-20 selections

There will be a Duke basketball contingent at the NBA Draft next week as both Kyle Filipowski and Jared McCain received invitations to sit in the the green room, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

Neither player received an invitation through the first batch of prospects.

Both prospects are likely to be selected in the first round but it’s still unclear where the Blue Devil duo will be picked.

Yahoo! Sports’ latest mock draft has McCain coming off the board at No. 15 to the Miami Heat while Filipowski, according to Krysten Peak, is in danger of slipping out of the first round with a selection by the Boston Celtics at No. 30 overall.

Throughout the NBA Draft process, both players appeard to be Top-20 picks and that still could be the case. Expert analysis has said that this is one of the weaker draft classes in recent memory and franchises could be looking for prospects that are better fits in their system than overall talent.

Kyle Filipowski is coming off of a season in which he was named as a consensus Second Team All-American and First Team All-ACC selection, averaging 16.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

Filipowski was the ACC’s Rookie of the Year following his freshman season.

Jared McCain quickly became one of the country’s best freshman last season for his ability to shoot 3-pointers, making 41.4-percent of his attempts. He averaged 14.3 points per contest and was placed on the ACC All-Rookie Team.

ESPN’s most recent projections, which was published on June 11, had both Blue Devils as Top-20 picks.

The first round of the NBA Draft will be held inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Wednesday, June 26 (8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC). For the first time ever, the second round will be held from the ESPN studios in Manhattan on Thursday, June 27 (4:00 p.m. ET, ESPN).