Lance Thomas' Knee

[DevilHorns]

Right. But (and this is pure speculation), I don't think K would say that it was serious if it weren't a potential season-ender. Guess I should just shut up and wait, since I have no clue what's going on.

very wise. as you always are. sigh. lets hope for the best.

got to say something though, lance always gives his A+ effort, and it will be something as a duke fan that i will always treasure. i remember during the smackdown last year against clemson when lance got a late rebound and took it back up with authority (realize we are down by +20 pts at this point). the rest of the team looked lost in a daze, he was still focused. he always shows so much heart.

[Philadukie]

Lance gives everything he has to this team and Duke Basketball.

Let's all hope for the best.

[pamtar]

Ive blown a knee out and I've also fallen into a rail wakeskating at 25mph and gotten a "deep bruise." I was scared to look at my leg after the deep bruise. It was by far the worst pain of my life. I hit the rail again two days later though, so hopefully Lance will be back in action soon!

[coldriver10]

I agree with the majority here. My guess would be deep bruise, which can be tremendously painful and have some morbidity associated with it (development of an effusion that needs draining, for example), but compared to a ligament tear it's a walk in the park. Seeing the replay I'm not too worried about his ACL, but his MCL definitely could have been affected.

Hope you're okay, Lance! We need you!

[CameronBornAndBred]

Best wishes Lance..I think the game would have been in hand long before the three minute mark if we had his defense in there for the second half.

[DU82]

Absolutely. In fact, a bruised kneed could be much more painful than an ACL tear, to be honest.

From experience (unfortunately) that's absolutely true. Other than the initial shock, it's didn't hurt that much after hearing (or feeling) the ACL pop (not that I knew it was the ACL at the time.) I felt almost good enough to go back into the game. The next day, however, the knee was about twice the size, hurt like Chapel Hill, and I could barely move.

[flyingdutchdevil]

An impact injury is going to be serious in the sense that it's going to swell up and keep the player from putting any weight on it for several days. So I'd be worried about that as a coach as well. It can also cause some nagging pains even after you can run on it.

That said, the healing time is dramatically faster. I'm hoping it's that until I hear otherwise.

Thanks for the response. Hope it's a deep bruise, then. If it is, LT can certainly take the pain. He's a beast.

[Son of Jarhead]

Here's to the news being better than anyone could hope for. I've really loved the way this kid has been playing & leading. Get healthy soon, Lance.

[arydolphin]

In terms of an MRI, it would be nice if the swelling went down, but it's not a necessity before getting the MRI. I said this in the chat during the game, Lance will probably get an MRI at some point tomorrow. I would assume that there would be some type of update on his status prior to the Maryland game on Saturday. The Duke staff will know the extent of the injury; whether they reveal it to the rest of us remains to be seen. Usually they will disclose an injury that is going to keep a player out for a few weeks (like Mason Plumlee's wrist injury earlier this year), but won't reveal details on injuries that guys can play with (like Kyle's wrist).

A dislocated patella would have been a pretty serious injury, but also would have probably been able to be seen on the court. K said in his post-game comments that he doesn't think it's an ACL, he's probably basing it on the fact that the trainer can do an exam on Lance's knee that focuses on the stability of the ACL. He could just have a simple contusion to the knee, but the way that K was talking after the game, I'd be surprised if there wasn't some ligament damage going on with Lance.

[CameronBornAndBred]

From K...and talking about the possibility of not having LT, and how Andre filled in.

“Andre gave us good minutes,” Krzyzewski said. “. . .If Lance is out, it’s probably one of the looks we’ll have, with Kyle at the four.”

This article from the N&O does a good job of breaking down some of K's decisions, and how they worked out, including how he found the silver lining in Lance's absence.
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/c...ry/332117.html

[Dukeface88]

A girl in my dorm was around when the team got back; Lance was on crutches. According to her, K said Lance will be out for "a while", and while he didn't mention what it was, he did say it was NOT an ACL injury.

[BlueintheFace]

"MRI Tomorrow"

... that's all we will get tonight.

[DevilHorns]

To see any definitive structural damage to the knee they need an MRI. He hasnt had that done yet. But there are definitely physical exam maneuvers that can be employed to check the status of different knee ligaments. If K says the ACL looks fine, that makes me feel pretty secure. Hopefully we are dealing with a deep patellar bruise.

[Jumbo]

A girl in my dorm was around when the team got back; Lance was on crutches. According to her, K said Lance will be out for "a while", and while he didn't mention what it was, he did say it was NOT an ACL injury.

I guess it all comes down to what "a while" means. I guess I'm inclined to assume the worst, as I've basically been treating this as a season-ender in my mind since he went down. Anything less -- anything that enables him to return at some point this season -- will be absolutely fine with me. Come on, Lance, let it not be too serious!

[Jumbo]

To see any definitive structural damage to the knee they need an MRI. He hasnt had that done yet. But there are definitely physical exam maneuvers that can be employed to check the status of different knee ligaments. If K says the ACL looks fine, that makes me feel pretty secure. Hopefully we are dealing with a deep patellar bruise.

Would a deep bruise like that be something a coach/trainer would deem "serious?" I know athletes have missed significant stretches of time with those deep bruises, but from K's comments, he seemed particularly concerned ...

[BlueintheFace]

I would hate for this to be the way his Duke career ended. I would just hate it.

[DevilHorns]

Would a deep bruise like that be something a coach/trainer would deem "serious?" I know athletes have missed significant stretches of time with those deep bruises, but from K's comments, he seemed particularly concerned ...

From what I understand, a deep bone bruise can sometimes take a few months to heal completely as a worst case scenario.

I believe Carmelo had a deep knee bruise this year?

[HateCarolina]

I'll be praying to the B-Ball gods that LT recovers quickly b/c he is bringing it every game this year and we need him!!!

[loldevilz]

Lance is a warrior. I have been so impressed by his constant effort and leadership this year. Even if he is out I know he will still be a leader on the bench. Its a real shame, however, that so much experience will be lost, not only in games but in practices. Other players will have to step up to fill his void.

[BD80]

"Dammit Jim, I'm a basketball coach, not a doctor!"

This is Duke University for goodness sakes, site of one of the best medical facilities on the planet, and home of an elite biomedical research facility.

You're telling me we haven't invented the Star Trek tricorder yet?

We at least have sensors implanted in the players for instant biofeedback; no?

At least we have a coach with bionic hips