Bulls select 7-foot Duke center in early 2024 NBA mock draft

In a recent way-too-early 2024 NBA Mock Draft, the Chicago Bulls select a seven-foot center with their lottery pick.

The 2023 NBA draft just wrapped up, and despite not having any picks heading into the night, the Chicago Bulls made some noise. They traded into the second round, nabbing pick No. 35 from the Washington Wizards and selecting Tennessee forward Julian Phillips. Then, after the night was done, they signed undrafted free agent center Adama Sanogo of UConn to a two-way contract.

Now, heading into the league year, the Bulls will shift their focus to competing for the postseason. Arturas Karnisovas stated he has no intentions of rebuilding the roster. While they may not try to rebuild, staying afloat in a packed Eastern Conference could prove a tough feat.

In ESPN’s way-too-early 2024 NBA mock draft, the Bulls land the 10th pick, putting them out of the playoff race. With the selection, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have Chicago selecting Duke center Kyle Filipowski.

Filipowski just wrapped up his freshman year with the Blue Devils and is headed back to school for a second season, during which he will attempt to improve his draft stock.

In his first year in college, the seven-foot big man appeared in 36 games (starting all of them), averaging 29.1 minutes per contest. He averaged 15.1 points, 9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game on 44.1% shooting from the field and 28.2% from behind the 3-point line.

If, by this time next year, the Bulls decide they are ready for a rebuild, it’s safe to assume that Nikola Vucevic would not be a part of those plans. In that case, Filipowski could slot in as the Bulls’ starting center on a young, rebuilding roster.

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Kyle Filipowski announces decision on his future

Filipowski makes a decision on NBA draft or returning to Duke for the 2023-24 season.

Duke Blue Devils big man Kyle Filipowksi was among the players in the 2023 NBA draft class that had yet to announce his intentions. Would he be another one-and-done prospect at Duke or would he return to Cameron Indoor Stadium?

On Tuesday, the 7-footer made his intentions known through his social media channels, particularly on Twitter. The consensus five-star recruit from New York announced that he would be returning to Duke for the 2023-24 college basketball season.

Filipowski appeared in 36 games this past season with an average of 15.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. His best performance of the season came against the Pitt Panthers on Jan. 11. Filipowski scored 28 points while snagging 15 rebounds, four of which came on the offensive side.

Respect his decision to return to the hardwood among the Cameron crazies this next season.

Filipowski will join Tyrese Proctor, who announced he would return to Duke back on Mar. 27. This gives second-year head coach Jon Scheyer a boost to his team as they look to make another run at an NCAA Championship next season. The latest odds have Duke with the second best chance to win it all behind the defending champions, UConn.

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Notre Dame nearly pulls off shocker at Duke

Can’t say the Irish didn’t care about this game.

No one is going to give Notre Dame any moral victories this season, especially when the season has been such a disaster. But all things considered, its game against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium is as close as they’ll get to one this season.

With Mike Krzyzewski on hand to watch former assistant [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s final game in Durham, the Irish put up way more of a fight than anyone expected. Still, the result was the same as the Blue Devils won, 68-64.

The Irish (10-16, 2-13) fell behind by as much as 14 in the second half, but the Blue Devils (18-8, 9-6) let them hang around. They cut the deficit to four a couple of times before [autotag]JJ Starling[/autotag] hit some big shots to get the team even closer. A 3-pointer with 1:27 left got them within two, and he put them within one on a layup with 35.5 seconds to go. That was as good as it got as Mark Mitchell subsequently hit a corner 3 with 10.8 seconds left to put the Blue Devils up four and essentially ice the contest.

While the Irish did still have a chance, it was a slim, and it quickly became nonexistent. [autotag]Ven-Allen Lubin[/autotag] converted a layup with 3.9 seconds left to bring the deficit back to two. Forced to foul, [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag] sent Tyrese Proctor to the free-throw line. Proctor sank both free throws to erase any remaining doubt.

A surprising theme to this game was only a few double-digit scorers. Future NBA player Kyle Filipowski was the lone such player for the Blue Devils with 22 points. [autotag]Dane Goodwin[/autotag], coming off the bench for the first time this season, had a season-high 25 points on an astounding 11-of-13 shooting. Lubin’s layup in the final seconds brought his scoring total to 10.

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2023 NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Wembanyama, Henderson on top; Freshmen rising in latest projections

Rookie Wire took a look at where the next draft class stands at the midway point of the season.

The 2022-23 basketball season is in full swing as the next wave of prospects across the college level and the professional ranks look ahead to the 2023 NBA draft on June 22.

Of course, Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson remain at the top of draft boards at the start of the new year. Both could shut down their seasons right now and still be viewed as the best two players in the class. In other words: They are locked in at Nos. 1 and 2.

Elsewhere, though, fortunes change seemingly nightly.

Several prospects have improved upon their preseason rankings, while others have struggled and had their stock fall. The latest look at the class even has several freshmen on the rise after some impressive performances through the first half of the year.

Rookie Wire took a look at where the first round stands at the midway point of the season. It is important to note that team needs were not necessarily taken into account with each pick. The projections are rather a look at where each individual player stands at this point of the process.

Note: The order of the draft was pulled from Tankathon as of Jan. 10. The draft will have only 58 picks this year because the Bulls and Sixers were stripped of their second-round picks by the NBA due to tampering violations.

2023 NBA Mock Draft 1.0: An early look at the top prospects next year

Rookie Wire took a very early look at the next rookie class and some of the top prospects to monitor over the course of the 2022-23 season.

With the basketball world over a month removed from the NBA draft, many have started to look ahead to the next rookie class and which prospects may be available.

The class is headlined by French phenom Victor Wembanyama, who is considered one of the top prospects in recent memory. He has performed well in the top basketball league in France and looks to already be locked in as the top pick in 2023.

Elsewhere, there are several other prospects that will be worth monitoring over the course of next season. The rankings will certainly change but it can be a productive exercise to see how prospects moved up and down draft boards ahead of next year.

Rookie Wire took a very early look at the next rookie class and some of the top prospects to monitor as the 2022-23 season approaches in a couple of months.

Note: The order of the draft was determined by the reverse championship odds set by Tipico Sportsbook. The 2023 draft will only have 59 picks after the Bulls were stripped of their second-round pick by the NBA due to a tampering violation involving the signing of Lonzo Ball.

Iowa reportedly set to square off against Duke in the 2022 Jimmy V Classic

Iowa will meet the Duke Blue Devils in the 2022 Jimmy V Classic. Here’s a look at the all-time series history and Duke’s projected starters.

The start of Iowa’s 2022-23 men’s basketball season is still every bit of five months away. Still, the Hawkeyes just received fantastic news with the return of forward Kris Murray to Iowa City.

Paired with several other decisions by Iowa players to either return or exit via the transfer portal, fans now have a pretty clear idea of what the Hawkeyes’ starting five and key reserves will look like entering next season.

Now, Iowa fans know they can book flights and start planning a trip to New York City for a battle against a blue blood.

CBS Sports and College Hoops Today’s Jon Rothstein reported that Iowa is set to meet the Duke Blue Devils in the 2022 Jimmy V Classic from historic Madison Square Garden. Rothstein also reported that the other game in the event is expected to feature the Texas Longhorns against the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Duke is one of the pillar programs in all of college basketball and will enter next season fresh off the Blue Devils’ 17th all-time appearance in the Final Four. Of course, legendary head coach Mike Krzyewski’s 13th and final Final Four appearance ended with the Blue Devils’ archrivals in the North Carolina Tar Heels sending Duke packing, 81-77.

The Kansas Jayhawks would go on to win the national championship over North Carolina, erasing a 16-point deficit in a historic second-half flurry for the largest title game comeback in NCAA Tournament history, topping the Tar Heels, 72-69.

In its history, Iowa has met up with Duke on eight different occasions. The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 7-1. The Hawkeyes and Blue Devils last played on Nov. 27, 2001, in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge. It was not to be from the jump for an Iowa team led by guard Luke Recker and forward Reggie Evans.

Duke point guard Jason Williams scored 25 points, center Carlos Boozer added 22 and forward Mike Dunleavy chipped in with 18. The then-No. 1 and defending national champion Blue Devils routed Iowa, 80-62, inside the United Center.

Duke is set to replace some serious star power from last season’s Final Four team, but the Blue Devils have reloaded their roster with some serious talent. Here’s a look at the all-time series matchups between Iowa and Duke and a look at the Blue Devils’ projected starting five.