The Blue Devils seem to be healthy again for their rivalry showdown with North Carolina.
The Duke basketball team might be back to full strength when they face North Carolina on Saturday night (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Blue Devil head coach Jon Scheyer has been quiet about the likelihood of center Maliq Brown returning for the major rivalry game on the calendar, but the team’s social media accounts may have revealed his condition.
Duke shared photos from their Friday practice on social media, and Brown was seen in drills playing defense in what seemed to be a contact aspect of their training.
During his media appearance on Thursday, Jon Scheyer stated that Brown practiced on Wednesday but just completed non-contact exercises.
“Make a determination based on how he’s feeling Saturday if there’s a real chance [if he could play] or not,” Scheyer told ESPN.
Brown has not played since sustaining a knee sprain early in the team’s victory against Notre Dame, missing the last four games, but he offered an update on his recovery process during warmups on Monday before the Blue Devils faced NC State.
The Syracuse transfer may not have the finest stats (2.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game), but his flexibility and defensive abilities have been dearly missed by Duke.
In Maliq Brown’s absence, the Blue Devils have given starting freshman center Khaman Maluach more minutes, while rookie forward Patrick Ngongba II has emerged as a crucial component of the program.
Mason Gillis, a graduate student, has also played center in the past four games.
North Carolina has not had a strong frontcourt this season and is suffering with an injury of its own. 6-foot-10 center Jalen Washington was hurt in the Heels’ overtime victory over Boston College on Saturday and did not participate in their loss to Pittsburgh.
Hubert Davis informed reporters that Washington planned to exercise on Thursday but did not issue an injury designation for the game.
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