Duke basketball’s Wendell Moore is progressing, but his return from injury isn’t close
Two weeks into his recovery from surgery to repair a broken right hand, Duke freshman Wendell Moore likely won’t return until February, according to Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
“We hope that in a few weeks, in February, he’ll be back with us,” Krzyzewski said Monday, in response to a question from the News and Observer, during an ACC teleconference. “But he’s progressing well. He’s staying in good shape. Obviously he’s not doing anything with his right hand. But he is staying in shape.”
The 6-6, 213-pound Moore, who is from Charlotte and played high school basketball at Cox Mill, broke the fourth metacarpal bone in his right hand during Duke’s 95-62 win at Miami on Jan. 4. He had surgery two days later.
Helping Duke at point guard, small forward and power forward this season, Moore played in the Blue Devils’ first 14 games with five starts. He averages 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds while playing 22.2 minutes per game.
His contributions, Krzyzewski said, are missed.
“There’s no question we are a little bit different team without him (with) the athleticism and where he was playing,“ Krzyzewski said Monday.
One area, statistics show, is rebounding. The Blue Devils won the rebounding battle in 13 consecutive games until Moore was sidelined. They’ve failed to out-rebound their opponent three times in the last four games without him.
Clemson had more rebounds than Duke in its 79-72 win last Tuesday and Louisville matched the Blue Devils in rebounding while winning 79-73 at Cameron Indoor Stadium this past Saturday.
Miami at Duke
When: 9 p.m., Tuesday
Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham
Watch: ESPN
This story was originally published January 20, 2020 at 3:35 PM.