Per Duke Comms:
Duke men’s basketball sophomores Kyle Filipowski and Tyrese Proctor were named to the preseason watch list for the 2024 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I Player of the Year award, the organization has announced. The Blue Devils are the lone ACC school with multiple players on the preseason watch list and just one of three programs (Creighton, USC) with two players selected.
Six former Blue Devils have been named NABC Division I Player of the Year, most recently Zion Williamson in 2019. Jason Williams earned the award in back-to-back seasons in 2001 and 2002 and is still the most recent repeat winner in the history of the award.
Filipowski returns to Duke for his sophomore campaign after being named ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, an honorable mention All-American and the Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year following the 2022-23 season. He led the Blue Devils in scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.1 and 8.9, respectively. The Westtown, N.Y., native has garnered several other preseason accolades, including ACC Preseason Player of the Year, Preseason All-American from the Associated Press and Preseason First Team All-American from the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
Proctor, a native of Sydney, Australia, is one of Duke’s three captains for the upcoming 2023-24 season. He is just the fourth sophomore captain in Duke’s basketball history, joining Tre Jones in 2020 and Greg Paulus and Josh McRoberts in 2007. Proctor enters his second season in Durham after an ACC All-Freshman campaign in 2022-23, where he played in all 36 games and finished as the team’s third-best scorer with 9.4 points per game while leading the team with 119 assists. The guard was also named to the watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the top point guard in Division I men’s basketball, in late October.
The 2024 NABC Division I Player of the Year – selected by a nationwide vote of Division I head coaches – will be announced the week of the 2024 Men’s Final Four.
Duke, ranked No. 2 in the AP preseason poll, opens its regular season on Monday, Nov. 6, versus Dartmouth. Tip off at Cameron Indoor Stadium is scheduled for 9 p.m., with fans also able to watch on ACC Network.
2024 NABC Division I Player of the Year – Preseason Watch List
Max Abmas, Texas
Trey Alexander, Creighton
Armando Bacot, North Carolina
Oumar Ballo, Arizona
Boo Buie, Northwestern
Donovan Clingan, Connecticut
Isaiah Collier, USC
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Zach Edey, Purdue
Boogie Ellis, USC
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
Bryce Hopkins, Providence
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Justin Moore, Villanova
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Tyrese Proctor, Duke
Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M
Tyson Walker, Michigan State
