Washington State guard Cedric Coward would not have the clout much like Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, however he has the expertise and talent that might probably trigger a stir within the 2025 NBA draft on the Barclays Middle in Brooklyn on June 25-26.
Coward had a busy offseason, declaring for the draft and putting his title within the switch portal. He introduced his dedication to play for Duke this coming season, however he modified his thoughts and determined to proceed his dream of turning into an NBA famous person.
Preliminary mock drafts place the 21-year-old participant as a late first-round choose. However after a powerful draft mix and constructive raves from scouts, his draft inventory climbed quickly, placing him between the No. 10 and No. 15 choose within the newest version.
Varied mock draft analysts noticed some similarities with NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard in Coward as a consequence of his 3-and-D wing construct, athleticism and size. Different consultants, however, see him play extra of a connector function—akin to Derrick White—as a consequence of his versatility and willingness to do every little thing to assist his workforce win the sport.
Cedric Coward seeks to show he’s extra than simply the hype
The offseason announcement to decide to Duke might have triggered a surge in publicity for the 6-6 Fresno, California, native, who initially performed at Willamette College—a Division III college.
The guard received the Northwest Convention Freshman of the 12 months and was named to the All-First Staff after averaging 19.5 factors, 12.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 steals and a pair of.8 blocks per recreation.
His glorious displaying at Williamette handed him a chance to switch to Japanese Washington, the place he spent the following two seasons and was awarded the All-Massive Sky First Staff honors in 2023-24 after posting 15.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.7 apg and 1.0 spg and capturing 56.5% from the sphere and 89.5% from the free-throw line.
He transferred to Washington State this previous season however solely noticed motion in six video games as a consequence of a shoulder damage. He tallied 17.7 ppg, 7.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 blocks per recreation earlier than sitting out the rest of the marketing campaign.
His former coach, David Riley, was impressed with Coward’s character and work ethic on the courtroom. He expects the guard to proceed it whereas shifting as much as the skilled ranks.
“As soon as you set him in an atmosphere, he’s such a high-character child and overachiever that he’s going to perform a little bit greater than everybody else, and that’s sort of the best way it progressed,” Riley mentioned.
There have been quite a lot of constructive feedback surrounding the Washington State wing, which might enhance his draft inventory even additional. The query now lies with every workforce if they will take an opportunity on a little-known participant who has the potential of turning into the following NBA famous person.
We are able to solely discover that out within the NBA draft on Wednesday.
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Edited by Geoff
