The Duke basketball team is hopefully that center Maliq Brown will be able to participate in practice this week with the potential to return on Saturday night (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) against North Carolina.
Brown took part in light basketball activities prior to Monday’s matchup against NC State but remained out for the fifth straight game with a knee sprain.
“Maliq hasn't done any practice,” Jon Scheyer said after the 74-64 victory for the No. 2 Blue Devils (18-2, 10-0 ACC).
“He's done everything with our medical team. They've done a great job getting him back ready. We thought tonight, just to be out there, helps.”
Brown, the versatile transfer from Syracuse, anchored Duke’s defense throughout the season and lead the Blue Devils to a Top-5 adjusted defensive efficiency in KenPom this season.
“I haven't heard yet how everything went,” Scheyer said of his warmup session. “But this week, we'll see if he can do some practice. That'll be important to see what his timing is here.”
The team did not put a specific timeline on his return once he was injured in the victory against Pittsburgh, only saying he would be out multiple weeks.
Duke is entering one of the more challenging parts of its non-conference schedule with its rivalry matchup against the Tar Heels this weekend before a two-game road trip begins against Syracuse and Clemson.
“It's not just the defense,” Jon Scheyer explained on why the absence of Maliq Brown is so important for Duke. “It’s also the creation of some disruption on defense, which can lead to easy baskets. We don't have that.”
Khaman Maluach received an increase in minutes with Brown sidelined while Mason Gillis has played more time as a center and freshman Patrick Ngongba II has averaged 15.2 minutes over the last four games.