Duke 2021 commit Adrian Griffin Jr. leaves rivalry game with scary injury

Duke Basketball 2021 commit Adrian Griffin Jr. suffered a scary knee injury on Friday night and was seen in an air cast after being helped to the bench following the injury.

The future of the Duke Basketball program took a hit on Friday night when 2021 commit Adrian Griffin Jr. had to be helped off the court in the final minutes of a rivalry game against Iona Prep with a left knee injury.

Griffin Jr. went down with what appeared to be a non-contact knee injury and a host of athletic trainers from Archbishop Stepinac High School rushed to the care of their star junior forward.

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The future Blue Devil had to be helped to the bench and did not put any weight on his left leg, but at the next timeout, Griffin Jr. was walking without a noticeable limp while smiling and joking with teammates on the bench.

However, after rejoining his teammates on the bench, yet not returning to the game, Adrian Griffin Jr. had an air cast on his left leg as he was walking gingerly back to the locker room under his own power.

After the game, Archbishop Stepinac head coach Pat Massaroni confirmed that Adrian Griffin Jr. has a left knee injury, but he explained that the extent of the injury would not be known until his junior undergoes a series of tests in the coming days and the school wouldn’t know the official diagnosis until Monday or Tuesday.

As for the game, it was a a sold-out standing room only crowd at the Westchester County Center as Archbishop Stepinac battled with rival Iona Prep and came out on top with a 62-54 victory.

Adrian Griffin Jr. battled foul trouble in the first half, picking up three fouls in the opening half, but found his rhythm in the second half to finish with eight points, four rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal prior to his injury.

The 6-foot-7 forward was 3-of-4 from the floor and 2-of-3 from the free throw line but did show his unlimited range from 3-point territory in pregame warmups.

Adrian Griffin Jr. committed to Duke back on November 4, 2019, and is the only player from the Class of 2021 to be committed to the Blue Devils as of now.

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Duke fans will certainly want to keep an eye on the prognosis of Adrian Griffin Jr., but if the injury proves to be serious, Duke Nation can take some solace in the fact that Griffin Jr. still has an entire year to rehab before arriving in Durham in 2021.