With just four games remaining in the 2019 calendar year, the Duke Basketball team should not rush Cassius Stanley back to the floor for Friday’s game against Virginia Tech.
In the second half of Duke’s victory over Michigan State, ESPN play-by-play man Dan Schulman revealed that Mike Krzyzewski said previous to the game that Cassius Stanley could return to the floor on Friday night against the Virginia Tech Hokies.
Stanley suffered what looked like a bad knee or hamstring injury on November 29 in a win over Winthrop, but after the game, Coach K revealed that it was only a hamstring injury and the freshman would probably be out until after Christmas.
More from Ball Durham
- Duke basketball: The architect behind digital dominance
- Duke basketball prioritizing frontcourt prospects in 2025
- Duke basketball: Unmasking the hate for the Blue Devils
- Duke basketball: Countdown to Craziness lands another huge visitor
- Duke basketball fills final open scholarship
Schulman just dumped the big news on the viewers and really didn’t give context to any other news around Stanley, as Duke is very protective of its injured players.
While Cassius Stanley has been a great player for the Duke Blue Devils this season, Duke only has two games between now and Christmas and four games between now and the end of the 2019 calendar year.
Those games are on Friday, December 6 on the road against the Virginia Tech Hokies and then three games back in Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 19 against Wofford, December 28 against Brown, and December 31 against Wake Forest.
There is no game that is a guaranteed win, as can be seen in Duke’s loss at home to Stephen F. Austin with Stanley on the floor, but as hamstring injury can linger, the Blue Devils should not rush Cassius Stanley back to game action.
ALSO READ: Predicted scores of every Duke game this season
Averaging 12.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 50.0% from the floor and 47.4% from 3-point range, Cassius Stanley is critical to the success of Duke this season and having the Los Angeles native less than 100% would be doing a disservice to not only Stanley, but also to the rest of the Blue Devils.
Once Cassius Stanley returns to the floor it will be a wonderful sight to see, but sitting out Friday night could be better in the long run for the Duke Blue Devils.