It’s Déjà vu for the Duke basketball team as it will see its standout center, Maliq Brown, return from injury on Saturday night against North Carolina.
Brown has not played since suffering a dislocated shoulder in the Blue Devils’ victory against Virginia on February 17 but will be on the court for the second time against the Tar Heels this season, the program announced.
Brown missed four games earlier in the season due to a toe injury and made his return against the Tar Heels on February 1 with two points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 15 minutes of action.
The Syracuse transfer also missed four games with his shoulder injury.
Head coach Jon Scheyer told the media on Thursday that Maliq Brown had not practiced since suffering his shoulder injury despite multiple pleas to the coaching staff to allow him to return to the court.
Maliq Brown update ➡️ active tonight vs. UNC pic.twitter.com/o8Wgc8eSXv
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 8, 2025
Scheyer added that Brown was going to attempt to practice later in the afternoon, but no determination would be made on his playing status until Saturday. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on College Game Day that Brown was “questionable” to play.
He is averaging 2.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game and an anchor to the Blue Devils’ highly touted defense, however, the freshmen duo of Patrick Ngongba and Khaman Maluach have combined to adequately fill his void.
No. 2 Duke (27-3, 18-1 ACC) is getting healthy at the perfect time of the season following the return of starting point guard Tyrese Proctor against Wake Forest after he missed one game after suffering a bruised knee against Miami on February 25.
Proctor started and had 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting against the Demon Deacons.
Tipoff between Duke and North Carolina (20-11, 13-6 ACC) is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN).