Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer has said forward Maliq Brown will miss "an extended period of time" with a sprained knee. Brown sustained the injury in the first half of Duke's 86-78 victory at home over Notre Dame this past Saturday.
Jon Scheyer told reporters that Duke's Maliq Brown will miss an extended period of time with a sprained knee.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) January 13, 2025
A key defensive piece for the Blue Devils.
Averages 2.5 PPG and 4.5 RPG.
Brown transferred to Duke from Syracuse this past offseason regarded as one of the best defenders in the ACC, if not the entire country. He was named to the 2023 All-ACC Defensive Team.
Just one minute into the first half against Notre Dame, Brown collided knees with teammate Mason Gillis, leading Brown to limp off the court and not return for the remainder of the game.
Now it is known the severity of the injury and Brown will not be back for a while.
Brown has been one of the centerpieces of this Duke defense which is widely regarded as the best defensive unit in the country. The Blue Devils rank #2 in defensive efficiency at KenPom.
The forward averages 2.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals a game but his value doesn't show up in the box score.
At 6' 9" and 222 pounds, Brown can guard 1 through 5 on the court and has an elite knack for disrupting plays, especially the rhythm of ball handlers.
Brown has already missed one game this season with a toe injury, but this knee issue seems much more significant.
Next up for Duke (14-2, 6-0 ACC) is at home against Miami (4-12, 0-5 ACC) on January 14th (9:00pm ET, ESPN) before heading on a two-game road trip against Boston College (9-7, 1-4 ACC) on January 18th (TBD) and then at Wake Forest (12-4, 4-1 ACC) on January 25th (4:30pm ET, ESPN).