"That’s their best player? Okay, I’m guarding him”: Duke commit Cedric Coward embraces defensive challenge

While Duke fans can half-anticipate the arrival of Cedric Coward, who became the program’s first addition in the transfer portal, he is already giving them an insight into what to expect from him if he wears their colors.

In a clip posted on Instagram by League Him on Tuesday, the former Washington State shooting guard spoke about the type of player he is and how much he loves to put in good defensive work.

“One of the biggest things for me is defense,“ Coward said in the interview. “In the league, not a lot of players go in there and you're the star player right away. It's not going to happen from, you know, 95% of people, obviously, you're in a defensive scheme.

“But for me, as a player, as an individual, taking pride and realizing, like, I'm guarding him, like that's their best player, I'm guarding him. To be legit two-way.”

Coward is quite experienced at this level, having played for Willamette University (DIII), Eastern Washington and Washington State already.

The 6-foot-6 shooting guard chose Duke after visiting other programs such as Alabama, Florida, Kansas and Washington. He has a good scoring rate over his four-year period at the collegiate level so far, averaging 12.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.8 blocks and 0.9 steals per game.

Cedric Coward testing for the 2025 NBA draft despite commitment to Duke

The Fresno, California, native may be committed to Duke, but his place on the roster when the season tips off is far from certain.

That is because he is still weighing up whether to return to college for another year or take the plunge into the professional ranks.

“I mean, there’s no set timetable on when the decision is going to be made," Coward said in an interview with ‘The Field of 68’ on Monday. “

But, as I gain more information, as I talk to the people close, close to me and, you know, that have the information in order for me to make that decision, and as I talk more to Coach Scheyer and the staff, we’ll, we’ll come to a, I guess, come to a decision on what’s best for me.”

Having already declared for the draft, Coward has until June 15 to withdraw if he wants to wear the Duke jersey next season.