Amile Jefferson's foot injury may be damaging for Duke
When Duke returns from a 10-day hiatus on Tuesday night, the most productive big man in its thin frontcourt won't be in uniform.
Senior forward Amile Jefferson is out indefinitely with a right foot injury, the school announced Monday. At this point, there is no timetable for Jefferson's return.
The loss of Jefferson is a significant blow for a Duke program that knows firsthand how long foot injuries can linger. Ryan Kelly missed 13 games during the 2012-13 season with a right foot injury that required surgery after the NCAA tournament. Two years before that, Kyrie Irving suffered a right toe injury in early December and did not return until the NCAA tournament.
Jefferson was averaging 11.4 points and 10.3 rebounds in Duke's first nine games and was among the best offensive rebounders in the country. In his absence, the Blue Devils basically have two options for how to adjust their lineup.
The best-case scenario for Duke would be plugging 6-foot-10 freshman Chase Jeter into Jefferson's spot in the starting lineup, but the McDonald's All-American hasn't looked ready for extended minutes yet. He is averaging 2.7 points and 2.1 rebounds and logged a total of three minutes in the Blue Devils' previous two games against Indiana and Buffalo.
Until Jeter develops, look for Duke to go small. Mike Krzyzewski can insert Derryck Thornton into his starting five, go with a three-guard look and slide Brandon Ingram from small forward to power forward. The rail-thin 6-foot-9 Ingram could get pushed around in the post or on the boards, but his perimeter skills could pose a mismatch at the other end too.
The only other option is Rice transfer Sean Obi, and that's likely not even up for consideration. The Duke staff has all but acknowledged it misevaluated Obi by playing him a total of five minutes so far this season.
Whichever route Krzyzewski goes, Duke's lack of post depth will be an issue. Guards Thornton and Luke Kennard were the only two Blue Devils reserves that currently average more than 8.1 minutes per game.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
