While medical evaluations on Maliq Brown’s shoulder injury were mostly good, Duke coach Jon Scheyer stated that his No. 3 Blue Devils must be prepared to play without their best reserve in the near future. “I’d estimate it’s a couple weeks,” Scheyer said Thursday, “but Maliq will do whatever it takes to get back on the court.
I’m just glad we didn’t see anything strange in there, just what you’d expect with a dislocated shoulder. So he’ll go into rehab with our medical staff, and we’ll bring him back as quickly as possible, while also being very careful not to push him. We need him back completely healthy.”
Still being really wise about not rushing this with him. We need him back completely healthy.” According to Scheyer, Brown is likely to return at some point this season. That might be in the ACC Tournament, held in Charlotte from March 11 to 15, or in the NCAA Tournament the following week. “I think we’re optimistic that we can get them back this season,” Scheyer told the crowd. “I think the hardest part is, a lot of it has to do with his stability, which, right now, he’s pretty sore still, so we have to see how much time that takes.” Brown injured his shoulder during Duke’s 80-62 victory over Virginia on Monday night. The injury happened with 1:21 remaining in the first half.
Brown, while playing defense, extended out with his left arm to deflect a ball. In discomfort, he instantly gripped his left arm’s shoulder and upper triceps. Brown has experienced three injuries this season, missing a December game with a toe ailment and four games in January with a damaged knee. His somewhat pedestrian numbers (2.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 1.6 assists per game) belie his larger contribution to the Blue Devils, notably on defense. He averages 17.4 minutes per game and is generally Duke’s first reserve off the bench. “Maliq’s a different player than anybody on our team,” Scheyer told reporters.
“He adds something unique to the table. So, obviously, you have to make some adjustments depending on who you are playing. The main reason is his defensive adaptability.” Duke (23-3, 15-1 ACC) will play its last regular-season nonconference game against Illinois at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday at 8 p.m. The Blue Devils will resume league action on Tuesday night against last-place Miami (6-20, 2-13 ACC). After that, the Blue Devils will play home ACC games against Florida State (16-10, 7-8 ACC) on March 1 and Wake Forest (19-7, 11-4 ACC) on March 3, before concluding the regular season on March 8 at North Carolina (16-11, 9-6 ACC).
No matter how the teams right behind Duke fare, the Blue Devils must win at least three of their last four ACC games to secure at least a share of the conference regular-season title, which would be the program’s second in the last four seasons. Duke last won the regular season in 2022, which was Mike Krzyzewski’s last season as head coach. To acquire the necessary victories without Brown, Scheyer said 6-11 freshman center Pat Ngongba will be a key element in replacing 7-2 freshman center Khaman Maluach in the post. “Look, we have tremendous faith in Pat,” Scheyer stated. ”
“We also know we have variety with different lineups we can use….Pat, Khaman, Cooper (Flagg), Mason (Gillis), all of those players are fairly adaptable in what they do, especially on defense. At the end of the day, we know we need to pick up Maliq.” This item was originally published on February 20, 2025, at 12:30 PM. Steve Wiseman The News & Observer, 919-419-6671 Since 2010, Steve Wiseman has covered Duke athletics for the Durham Herald-Sun and the Raleigh News & Observer. In the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest, he finished in the top ten for beat writing in 2019, 2021, and 2022, breaking news in 2019, and explanatory writing in 2018. Previously.
Steve worked for The State (Columbia, SC), Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, S.C.), The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.), Charlotte Observer, and Hickory (NC) Daily Record, covering beats such as the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, University of South Carolina athletics, and the South Carolina General Assembly. He has earned multiple state press association prizes. Steve graduated from Illinois State University in 1989. Take Us With You Real-time updates and all the local news you desire in the palm of your hand.
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