No. 9 Duke basketball has dodged COVID-19 so far, closing in on the season opener
Other than a couple of apparently minor injury concerns, No. 9 Duke is progressing toward what it hopes will be a season-opening game with Gardner-Webb at 8 p.m. on Nov. 25.
With no current COVID-19 roster impacts, the Blue Devils have held two scrimmages at Cameron Indoor Stadium with a third one scheduled for Friday.
Along the way, Duke saw forwards Matt Hurt and Henry Colemen sidelined with leg injuries.
Hurt tweaked a knee during the team’s first scrimmage on Nov. 6 and didn’t participate in last Friday’s scrimmage.
But the 6-foot-9 sophomore is progressing toward being ready for this Friday’s final scrimmage before the regular season. Assistant coach Chris Carrawell said in a Zoom interview Tuesday morning that Hurt went through a 45-minute pre-practice workout Monday before participating in practice until he had to leave early to take an exam in one of his classes.
“We’ve kept him out just to make sure we get him 100 percent,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a video Duke posted on its social media accounts Monday. “You don’t want to go into the season with some little nagging injuries.”
Hurt averaged 9.7 points while making 39.3% of his 3-point shots last season. He’s added 20 pounds to his frame, bulking up to 235 pounds, since last season, aiming to improve his play inside.
Coleman twisted his ankle in last Friday’s scrimmage and didn’t practice Monday. Prior to the injury, the 6-7 freshman had impressed the coaching staff enough to get minutes with the first team at times.
Coleman scored eight points during the 15-minute scrimmage period last Friday prior to being injured. He had 17 points and 10 rebounds in Duke’s first scrimmage on Nov. 6.
“Hopefully he’ll be back,” Krzyzewski said Monday.
Carrawell described Hurt and Coleman’s injuries as not ones that will keep them out of games.
“Henry twisted his ankle a little bit,” Carrawell said. “He’s a tough guy but right now you just want to make sure that they are 100 percent. If we needed both of those guys to play, they could play if there was a game today. But we just have to make sure they are 100 percent healthy.”
The Blue Devils’ players and staff continue to be tested daily for COVID-19 in accordance with Duke’s campus-wide safety plan. College basketball programs elsewhere have seen cases crop up that have caused practices to be halted.
Within the ACC, Miami has already postponed its Nov. 25 game with Stetson due to a positive coronavirus test in the Stetson program.
After the Gardner-Webb game (ACC Network), Duke is scheduled to host Coppin State at 2 p.m. Nov. 28.
“We are testing every day,” Krzyzewski said, “and we are hoping we can get started against Gardner-Webb and get going.”
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 2:19 PM.