Missing the first two weeks of summer workouts as a freshman could be devastating, but Duke basketball rookie Darren Harris is doing everything he can to get back on the court as quickly as possible.
The Blue Devils announced that the 4-star freshman, ranked No. 39 in the Class of 2024 by the 247Sports Composite rankings, underwent surgery to his non-shooting hand after suffering a fracturing over the summer. The procedure took place on June 21, days before the rest of the team began its offseason workouts, and is expected to make a full recovery.
While a specific timeline was not put on Harris' return to the court, he was seen just two weeks later dressed with his teammates and going through ball-handing drills with his dominant right hand.
He was wearing a brace on his left hand as he participated in the drills.
One day at a time pic.twitter.com/FXGbvRonIX
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) July 5, 2024
Named as the Gatorade Player of the Year in Virginia, Darren Harris averaged 17.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game during his senior season and led Paul VI (Va.) to GEICO Nationals, eventually falling to Montverde Academy (Fla.) in the title game.
Duke also posted photos of Harris going through conditioning drills despite his injury. There have not been any pictures or videos of the sharpshooter letting it fly from the field, but his quick recovery could see him on the floor with the rest of the Blue Devil guards very shortly.
Gotta get the handles right pic.twitter.com/YbPxO9MC29
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) July 3, 2024
Harris was the first player to commit to the Blue Devils in its top ranked recruiting class, which now features two of the Top-5 players in the country, Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach.
Flagg (USA) and Maluach (South Sudan) are both taking part in Olympic basketball training camp. Flagg is a member of the American Select Team while Maluach will be a key part of the Sudanese's roster in Paris.