Duke basketball: Jeremy Roach ‘doing more’ in practice

The Duke basketball captain could be inching closer to a return to the court. 

Jeremy Roach‘s (toe) absence has been noticeable for the Duke basketball team in its last three games but the captain could be close to a return to the lineup.

Blue Devil head coach Jon Scheyer said on the Fast Break with Jon Scheyer show on Wednesday night that his junior point guard is “doing really well” and “starting to do a little bit more in practice.”

The return of Jeremy Roach cannot come soon enough for Duke who has struggled with on court leadership this season in his absence and the lack of a killer instinct to put an opponent away.

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Roach is averaging a career-high 11.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game this season but the Blue Devils have been dangerously close to dropping three consecutive games with him sidelined.

Duke needed a last second free throws to defeat Boston College in its first game without Jeremy Roach and had to erase a 12-point second half deficit at home against Pittsburgh before the offense faltered in a loss on the road against Clemson on Saturday.

Scheyer continued saying that the swelling in Roach’s toe has gone down and he is “moving in the right direction.”

Duke basketball upcoming schedule needs steady point guard

The Blue Devils have not played since its 72-64 loss against the Tigers but has two daunting games looming against No. 17 Miami (FL) on Saturday afternoon in Cameron Indoor Stadium before a quick turnaround trip to Virginia Tech on Monday night.

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Duke will be off following its matchup with the Hokies until Saturday when it wraps up its two game road trip against Georgia Tech.

It feels likely that Jeremy Roach will return at some point in the next three games but Jon Scheyer continued by saying his status was “still up in the air for Saturday” and the team will not play him until he is fully healthy or as close to full health as his injury will allow.