Duke Basketball: Blue Devils ready to continue Canada Tour, despite injuries
It’s time for some more Duke Basketball as the Blue Devils continue their Canada Tour and take on the University of Toronto on Friday evening, while trying to avoid more injuries.
After a slow start, the Duke Blue Devils turned up the heat and defeated Ryerson University on Wednesday night, but it came at a cost.
The Blue Devils lost Alex O’Connell to an orbital floor fracture after he got hit in the face early in the first quarter on Wednesday he will not play in the remaining two games in Canada.
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Duke is already without Cam Reddish and Tre Jones who are dealing minor injuries and are being held out as precautions since it is only mid-August.
With three Blue Devils out with injuries, expect to see a lot of R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson for the remainder of the games in Canada as the duo exploded for a combined 63 points in their Duke debuts.
One name to keep an eye on Friday night is Marques Bolden who really struggled to get going on Wednesday night. The big man only had one shot attempt, which was blocked, and grabbed three rebounds.
As for the Blue Devils opponent, the University of Toronto. The Varsity Blues are coming off of a bronze medal at the 2018 Buddha’s Light International Association Tournament on July 8 and despite losing their top two scorers from last year, they bring back Evan Shadkami, who averaged 10.6 points per game and Nikola Paradina who averaged 9.6 points per game last season.
The Varsity Blue are one of the most historic college basketball teams in Canada as they were established in 1907 and have won 14 Conference Championships, the second most in the Ontario University Athletic League.
The main goal tonight for the Duke Blue Devils is to stay healthy, and to try and get the role players going because you know what you have in your stars with R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson.
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It’s time to see what Marques Bolden, Javin DeLaurier, and Jack White can provide on the offensive end because come November, Duke is going to need these type of players to produce on both ends of the floor.