Don’t expect Jack White to play for Duke Sunday
Duke will likely be without reserve forward Jack White for its second consecutive NCAA tournament game.
The 6-7 White, a team captain, remains unable to practice at full speed due to a torn hamstring he suffered during the March 16 ACC tournament championship game.
The No. 1 Blue Devils play ninth-seeded Central Florida on Sunday at 5:15 p.m. in the NCAA tournament East Region second round.
“We don’t think he’s going to play,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said Saturday. “He had a decent workout today with band work and that. He’ll try it out probably and warm up, but I don’t think so.”
The band work Krzyzewski referred to is resistance exercises White does as part of his rehabilitation. He does that work with Duke’s training staff while his teammates are on the court practicing.
White said Saturday that a new ultrasound test showed his torn hamstring has seen significant healing over the last week. His lateral movement is good but he’s still unable to turn it loose and run full speed ahead as he would need to while playing in a game.
So he said he doesn’t think he’ll be ready to play.
A Duke win on Sunday would advance the Blue Devils to the East Region semifinals in Washington, D.C, on Friday against 12th-seeded Liberty or No. 4 seed Virginia Tech.
While White wasn’t in uniform for Duke’s 85-62 first-round win over North Dakota State on Friday, the Blue Devils did have junior center Marques Bolden back. Bolden missed Duke’s three previous games with a sprained left knee. But he played 18 minutes Friday night, scoring two points with three rebounds and a blocked shot.
He experienced no adverse issues with his knee and is considered ready and available to play against Central Florida.
“Marques came out really well from yesterday’s game,” Krzyzewski said. “I thought he did a good job, especially guarding.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2019 at 6:19 PM.