The Duke basketball team could be getting a major reinforcement for its second installment of its rivalry with North Carolina and it’s someone the Tar Heels are very familiar with.
Backup center Maliq Brown has been out for the No. 2 Blue Devils since February 17 when he suffered a dislocated shoulder against Virginia. It has been the second time the Syracuse transfer has missed extended time this season with an injury after a setback with his toe forced him to the sidelines for four games.
Ironically, he made his return from the toe injury against North Carolina on February 1 and could be returning against the Tar Heels again.
“Maliq has been working so hard. Maliq’s been telling me for two weeks ‘I'm ready’, when he hasn't been,” Jon Scheyer said on Thursday afternoon. “But that's his mindset, to be ready.”
In Brown’s absence, Duke has given extended minutes to freshman forward Patrick Ngongba II, who has logged at least 11 minutes in every game since the junior went to the sidelines.
His best performance came in a blowout victory over Miami in which he had nine points and four rebounds in 18 minutes.
“He has not practiced yet. He's going to try today to do some but we're not going to risk anything unless he's completely ready to go,” Scheyer added.
“We’ll have to see today and tomorrow, if there's a chance, but he literally hasn't practiced one time with us yet.”
North Carolina does not have an elite frontcourt but players like Ven-Allen Lubin and Jae’Lyn Withers have been playing much better for Hubert Davis since the last time they locked up with Duke.
Lubin has scored double figures in six of eight games since he came on strong at the end of the meeting with the Blue Devils while Withers has posted at least 11 points in four of his last six games.
Tipoff between Duke and North Carolina is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) inside the Dean Dome on Saturday night.