"Duke always retains guys then ruins their career more": Fans react as Isaiah Evans makes final NBA draft decision

Duke Blue Devils guard Isaiah Evans will be playing out a second year of college basketball with coach Jon Scheyer's program. This development comes after Evans' name previously appeared as an early entrant into the 2025 NBA Draft on April 28, per Sports Illustrated.

On Sunday, @recruitsnews reported via Instagram that Evans confirmed that he will be returning for his sophomore year and has withdrawn his name from this year's NBA Draft.

"BREAKING: Duke guard Isaiah Evans has withdrawn from the 2025 NBA Draft and will not participate in the combine. Scheyer will have Year 2 Slim," @recruitsnews on Instagram posted.

College basketball fans and spectators, especially the Blue Devils faithful, reacted by showing how ecstatic they are to see the sharpshooter return to the top ACC program.

"Got that feedback, now it's to the lab," one fan said.

(image credits: @recruitsnews on Instagram)

"Eeee he finna go off," another fan commented with several fire emojis.

"Slim duncan on one this year, I stamp it," another user wrote with emojis.

"LET'S GOOOOOO!!!!! Year 2 Slim is about to be (fire)," a fan exclaimed with fire emojis.

Other users all over the comment section did not react to Evans' return positively as they alluded to Duke's recent strings of one-and-dones and lack of team continuity.

"Duke always retains guys then ruins their career more," one user shared with laughing emojis.

"Just build and get better," another user asserted.

"The check cleared," a user claimed.

In his rookie campaign of collegiate hoops, Isaiah Evans averaged 6.8 points on an overall 43.2% field goal percentage, 41.6% from three-point territory, 1.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists in around 13.7 minutes per contest for coach Jon Scheyer's team.

Isaiah Evans will be joined by the likes of Maliq Brown and Caleb Foster as standout returning players

Apart from Isaiah Evans, some of the standouts that are returning to play for the Duke Blue Devils in the 2025-2026 season include the likes of Maliq Brown, Caleb Foster, Patrick Ngongba II and Darren Harris.

With the departure of key cogs such as Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach, among others, coach Jon Scheyer is expected to use his returning players more in the upcoming season.

The Blue Devils finished the 2024-25 season with an overall record of 35-4 and made it all the way to the Final Four of this year's NCAA tournament. They were eliminated by the Houston Cougars through a tight three-point defeat, 70-67, on April 5.

About the author

Koby del Rosario is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda who took up BS in Advertising Management at De La Salle University, one of the big "four" universities in the Philippines. Koby has over four years of experience with Complex PH, M2.0 Communications, The LaSallian, Daily Tribune, and Time Attack Manila.

Koby's favorite college team would have to be the North Carolina Tar Heels. Apart from being MJ's alma mater, Koby has always been fond of the Jordan silhouettes that release in the school's colors (being a sneakerhead himself).

His past favorite college players would have to be Russell Westbrook (UCLA) and Markelle Fultz (Washington). With Russ, his 1-2 punch with Kevin Love during their UCLA days was something Koby marveled at as Russ became his favorite player to watch post-Kobe.

Besides playing basketball, Koby enjoys nightlife, collecting sneakers, and playing video games. Apart from hosting parties and taking pictures for parties/bars/clubs, Koby is learning to DJ as a hobby with all sorts of house and hip-hop as the main genres.

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Edited by Ruth John S