Could Duke basketball get Maliq Brown back in time to face UNC? What coach Jon Scheyer said
Halfway to a perfect ACC season and set to play its heated rival for the first time this season, No. 2 Duke is hoping to get a main player back on the court.
Maliq Brown, who hasn’t played since Jan. 11 due to a sprained knee, is set to return to the practice court Thursday and Friday, raising the possibility he could play for the Blue Devils in Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. game with North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“We’ll test it out, see how he feels,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said on Thursday, “and then just make a determination, based on how he’s feeling Saturday, if there’s a real chance or not.”
The Blue Devils (18-2, 10-0 ACC) have played their past last four games, and all but one minute of a fifth, without the 6-9 Brown. He suffered a sprained knee in the first half of Duke’s 86-78 home win over Notre Dame on Jan. 11. Scheyer said his player was healing up from not only the knee, but a toe injury suffered in early December that caused him to miss one game that month.
Prior to his injury, Brown had averaged 19 minutes per game. His athleticism and length gave him versatility to guard anyone from a point guard to a center. He led the ACC in steals last season at Syracuse and, following his transfer, become Duke’s leader in deflecting passes this season.
Brown was in uniform and participated in pregame warmups Monday night prior to Duke’s 74-64 win over N.C. State. That move was part of his ramp back up to playing in a game, but there was no possibility for him to play against the Wolfpack because he’d yet to practice in a full-contact, 5-on-5 setting.
Brown went through non-contract drills Wednesday with the plan to include him in more strenuous practice settings if his knee responded well. Scheyer cautioned that conditioning will be a factor as well.
“Not only can he do contact, but also just his shape,” Scheyer said. “It’s one practice. So we’ll see how he does today and tomorrow and go from there.”
The Blue Devils have continued winning even with Brown unavailable. They put their 14-game winning streak and perfect ACC record on the line against the rival Tar Heels (13-9, 6-4 ACC) on Saturday.
Duke relies on Brown mostly for his defense. The junior averages 2.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game this season. But he’s regularly been the first reserve to enter the game for Duke, usually in place of 7-2 freshman center Khaman Maluach. With Brown unavailable, Maluach has committed three or more fouls in three of Duke’s past five games.
Getting Brown back would certainly help Maluach and stabilize Duke’s rotation.
“The goal of having is to have a team where you’re playing at a high level,” Scheyer said. “Maliq and Khaman have done that.”
Defense has been the best part of Duke’s game this season. The Blue Devils have allowed just 59.6 points per game this season, No. 5 nationally among Division I men’s teams. Opponents have shot 37.2% against Duke this season, which also has the Blue Devils No. 5 nationally.
UNC averages 81.7 points per game, tied for No. 35 nationally, while making 46.9% of its shots, which is No. 81 nationally.