Astute Duke fans noticed from some practice footage released a few weeks ago that Belmont transfer big man Drew Scharnowski appeared to be on crutches with a sleeve covering his knee.
On Thursday at Duke's basketball media day, both Jon Scheyer and Scharnowski shed some light on the injury that the transfer big is dealing with, but didn't give out too many details.
"He has a knee injury he’s working through. He’ll be back hopefully soon," Scheyer said.
"Right now the goal is to return before the season starts. But … one day at a time," Scharnowski said.
Media in attendance today noted that Scharnowski was not on crutches when he arrived for the press conference.
Duke's Drew Scharnowski is dealing with a knee injury, but should be back soon
It's unfortunate that the Belmont transfer is already dealing with an injury, but it's clearly not something that should keep him sidelined long-term. Scharnowski seems to believe he'll be back in time for Duke's season opener, but it's a safe bet that he'll sit out Duke's preseason scrimmages.
Scheyer was not as committed to a timeline, but the "he'll be back hopefully soon" comment points to it not being something that should linger throughout the season.
Duke added Scharnowski in the Transfer Portal as a bit of a replacement for Maliq Brown, who exhausted his eligibility and became a second-round draft pick by the San Antonio Spurs. Scharnowski projects to be Duke's backup center behind Patrick Ngongba II, giving the Blue Devils some added size they didn't have last season.
That will prevent either 5-star freshmen - Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and Cameron Williams - from having to play out of position at the five when their bodies aren't quite ready for that at the college level.
Scharnowski spent two years at Belmont and averaged 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.1 stocks (steals + blocks) per game. He was one of the better defenders in the Missouri Valley.
His Transfer Portal addition was one of Scheyer's most underrated moves this offseason. Ngongba's late-season injury was costly for Duke last season, with Brown and Cameron Boozer having to play up a spot in the lineup to cover. Scharnowski gives Duke the backup five-man they didn't have a season ago.
Duke's still over a month away from the regular season opener against Army on November 2nd at Cameron Indoor. They face Army and Coastal Carolina in a pair of tune-up games before the season's first test against Michigan State in Chicago on November 10th.
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