Duke basketball: Darren Harris ditches hand brace and participates in shooting drills

The recovery process continues to accelerate for Duke basketball freshman Darren Harris after suffering a broken left hand earlier this summer.

There have not been any official updates from the Blue Devils on the status of Harris after the team announced he underwent surgery on June 18 at Duke Medical Center and was expected to make a full recovery, but social media clips have told a lot of the story.

Harris, a sharpshooting 6-foot-6 wing from Fairfax, Virginia, was seen in pictures taking part in dribbling and conditioning drills over the last week with a brace over his left hand.

Duke, in a late night photo dump on Wednesday, highlighted a Darren Harris corner 3-pointer as he did not have a brace on his surgically repaired left hand. It's the first time this summer that the Paul VI (Va.) standout has taken part in on-court drills.

Harris has still not been cleared for contact or to participate in scrimmages as the Blue Devils have been shorthanded this week with the injury and absences of freshmen Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach, who have been participating in their country's Olympic basketball training camps.

There is potential for Darren Harris to be a key part in Duke's success off the bench this season after he was named as the Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year following a senior season in which he averaged 17.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

He is one of ten newcomers on the Duke roster this season, which includes five other freshmen -- Flagg, Maluach, Isaiah Evans, Pat Ngongba II, and Kon Knueppel -- as well as four transfers; Mason Gillis (Purdue), Maliq Brown (Syracuse), Sion James (Tulane), and Cameron Sheffield (Tulsa).

Players are expected to remain on campus for the next few weeks before returning home prior to the start of the fall semester at the end of August.