Duke basketball loses freshman star Jalen Johnson to injury. How long with he be out?
A difficult start the season got tougher on Tuesday as No. 21 Duke will be without star freshman Jalen Johnson for an indefinite period of time.
Johnson, a preseason all-ACC selection, has a foot injury, the school announced. No further details were made available about the injury or when it began to bother the 6-9, 220-pound forward, only that it didn’t stem from a single incident.
He will not travel with Duke (2-2) for its ACC opener at Notre Dame on Wednesday night and is listed as out indefinitely.
Johnson has started all four of Duke’s games, averaging 11.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while making 54.3% of his shots from the field. His best performance was in Duke’s season-opening win over Coppin State when Johnson had 19 points and 19 rebounds in the Blue Devils 81-71 win
But his production has declined since then, mainly due to first-half foul trouble limiting his minutes. Johnson scored nine points in just 15 minutes of play in a 76-54 win over Bellarmine on Dec. 4. He scored seven points in 23 minutes when Illinois beat the Blue Devils, 83-68 on Dec. 8.
Duke has not played since the Illinois game. Its game with Charleston Southern, scheduled for Dec. 12, was canceled due to COVID-19 issues in the Charleston Southern program. Duke canceled the rest of its nonconference schedule on Dec. 10.
Johnson’s absence from the lineup comes when Duke is already struggling on offense. The Blue Devils have averaged 73.5 points per game, tied for No 170 among all ACC schools. Duke’s shooting percentage of 44.2 percent is also No. 170 nationally.
However, Johnson does have time to heal without missing games. After Wednesday night at Notre Dame, Duke’s next game isn’t until Dec. 29 at home with Pittsburgh.
Johnson is already projected as a first-round pick if he leaves Duke after one season to enter next year’s NBA Draft.
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 5:12 PM.