3 Duke players the Raptors should be watching as future draft prospects

No. 3: Sean Stewart, forward

Coming into the season, the Duke Blue Devils were absolutely loaded with talent. They brought back a core of players that included two starting frontcourt players in Kyle Filipowski and Mark Mitchell. That relegated some highly-talented freshmen to the bench in TJ Power and Sean Stewart.

Of the two, Stewart has been the one to force his way onto the court more often. The 6'9" power forward is a nuclear athlete, exploding off the floor to reach seemingly impossible heights. That has helped him inhale rebounds when on the court and climb the ladder to block shots that were seemingly safe.

The issue with Stewart had been his offensive game, as he doesn't stretch the floor and isn't much of a self-creator. Yet over the past few games for Duke he has found ways to score, including timely cuts to the rim, catching lobs or slamming home misses. He is 11-for-16 in his last three appearances.

Stewart projects as a do-it-all defender who will be somewhat of a work-in-progress on offense. The Raptors should be comfortable with taking their time, and they have had a lot of success developing that type of player. If Stewart declares for the draft this season he will likely be available at the top of the Second Round of the draft when the Raptors can snag him and start developing a defensive star.