DURHAM – One of Duke’s five NBA draft entrants is not like the others.

In the most basic piece of evidence, that was made clear by Jon Scheyer earlier this week when Duke’s first-year coach brought up – unprompted – freshman guard Trevor Keels.

“We’re not quite done,” Scheyer said Tuesday when discussing next season’s roster. “Trevor, of course we’re supporting him going through the process of testing and any NBA team would be really lucky to have Trevor. That’s the team we’re on, we want what’s best for him and we’re right behind every step of the way.”

What’s best for Keels, though, might mean he’s back at Duke for his sophomore season.

Aside from being singled out when Scheyer was discussing Duke’s roster for next season, the other area in which Keels differs among Duke’s quintet of draft entrants is he’s the only one seemingly outside of first-round projections.

Keels is No. 32 on Sam Vecenie’s latest big board update (The Athletic), and he’s No. 36 on Jonathan Wasserman’s latest update (Bleacher Report).

Obviously those come with a couple of disclaimers: One, they’re media-generated lists and two, there’s still an important few weeks left in the pre-draft process, including the NBA Combine in Chicago (May 16-22).

The value in being a first-round pick is receiving a contract with guaranteed money for the first two seasons, and team options for the third and fourth seasons. Contracts for second-round picks vary: Last season’s No. 32 pick, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, received a four-year, $7.89 million (total) deal, with the first two seasons guaranteed – which was the most player-friendly deal for a second-round pick.

That was one of only 10 second-round deals that had a fully guaranteed first two seasons, though. By comparison, the last five picks in the first round all receive between $10-11 million and a guaranteed first two seasons.

Keels is an interesting prospect in an NBA scope. He’s not going to be overmatched physically, but his shooting consistency (31.2% on 3s) and consistency in general could give teams pause about drafting him.

While Duke may or may not get Keels back, the Blue Devils won’t sit back and wait for his decision. Now the deadline to enter the transfer portal has passed, Duke has a solid handle on who’s available in what amounts to college basketball’s free agent landscape.

“Look, no matter what, there’s no substitution for Trevor Keels,” Scheyer said. “He’s an incredibly special player. … Our thing with him has been, ‘Act like you’re going. Go through it, attack it, you can’t be half-in.’”

Hence, the announcement that Keels was entering the NBA draft read the same way that announcements for Duke’s other four entrants – Paolo Banchero, AJ Griffin, Mark Williams and Wendell Moore Jr. – read, that he was hiring an agent.

As long as that agent is certified by the NBA Players Association, Keels would still have the option of returning to Duke if he pulls out of the draft pool by midnight of June 1.

“Constantly our staff is evaluating what’s out there in the portal,” Scheyer said. “You don’t want to just bring anybody in. You want to bring somebody in that fits, already, the core pieces that we have in place that can play a really big role.

“There’s a small margin of players that could fit.”

Duke’s only hole left on the roster is, seemingly, a running mate for Jeremy Roach at the 2-guard spot. The trio of top-five freshmen – Dariq Whitehead, Kyle Filipowski and Dereck Lively II – figure to start at the 3, 4 and 5 positions, respectively. Jaden Schutt could be an option at the 2-guard position, though that would give Scheyer four freshman starters.

“Getting a guy like Jeremy Roach (back) is really important,” Scheyer said. “He’s going to be a leader for us.”

Duke also has one scholarship available, with 12 dedicated to next season's roster. The breakdown there is four returning scholarship players (Roach, Joey Baker, Jaylen Blakes and Keenan Worthington), six freshmen (Whitehead, Filipowski, Lively, Schutt, Mark Mitchell and Christian Reeves), and two transfers (Kale Catchings and Ryan Young).

Getting a guy like Roach’s high school teammate would be really important for the Blue Devils, too.