Amile Jefferson will not play again in 2015-16 season, seeks medical hardship

[gurufrisbee]

Jeter gets a huge opportunity. MP3 gets a chance to step up some. Obi and Vrank will see a little more time. Hopefully Amile takes the time to get it 100%. He's been remarkable. Offense, defense, rebounding, leadership - he was in the All ACC teams discussion. But I'd rather him miss 10 games in December and January and none in March and April.

[jipops]

still won't play.

Yea, I'm betting we still won't see all that much of Obi. I could be wrong but the impression I get is Obi's lack of ability on offense and defense pretty much negates his ability on the boards. I think we'll see more of Ingram at the 4, which is going to have its issues, much more pt for Jeter and a little bit more for Vrankovic.

That's 3 freshmen with increased roles. We just got A LOT younger.

The only silver lining I see in all this is the possible benefit it will give Jeter going into next year. But nothing else.

[jipops]

Jeter gets a huge opportunity. MP3 gets a chance to step up some. Obi and Vrank will see a little more time. Hopefully Amile takes the time to get it 100%. He's been remarkable. Offense, defense, rebounding, leadership - he was in the All ACC teams discussion. But I'd rather him miss 10 games in December and January and none in March and April.

What happens in February?

[Troublemaker]

Jefferson was our ONLY skilled big man. This is huge. He has been a rock on both ends of the floor. Given the lack of detail one can assume it's pretty bad. And given recent history with Kyrie and Kelly, this has shown to not bode well. I'm crushed for Amile and as a selfish fan I'm resigned to seeing my team go through a lot of struggles in the coming months.

We either agree or disagree depending on what you mean by "lots of struggles."

I think we probably are not as good as UVA, UNC, and Louisville now. I think we might still be as good as Miami and better than every remaining ACC team. So, probably not good enough to challenge for the conference title, but still easily a tournament team.

And there's still an outside chance we belong in the discussion with UVA, UNC, and Louisville. It's just that everything has to break right -- no more injuries; MP3 steps up in his new role as the sole experienced big man; Chase steps up to be a reliable 7th man; Brandon isn't overwhelmed playing almost exclusively PF.

[jipops]

We either agree or disagree depending on what you mean by "lots of struggles."

I think we probably are not as good as UVA, UNC, and Louisville now. I think we might still be as good as Miami and better than every remaining ACC team. So, probably not good enough to challenge for the conference title, but still easily a tournament team.

And there's still an outside chance we belong in the discussion with UVA, UNC, and Louisville. It's just that everything has to break right -- no more injuries; MP3 steps up in his new role as the sole experienced big man; Chase steps up to be a reliable 7th man; Brandon isn't overwhelmed playing almost exclusively PF.

I think we'll have a decent barometer after our first two ACC games against BC and Wake, both on the road. If we can manage to get out of those with 2 W's then we may be ok. If not, then things could get rather hairy.

I expect us to have a rather difficult time defensively against Utah tomorrow night.

Amile was an excellent defender. Not only that, he has been one of the best offensive rebounders in the country. So expect offensive production to be significantly diminished as well.

[BD80]

Jeter gets a huge opportunity. MP3 gets a chance to step up some. Obi and Vrank will see a little more time. Hopefully Amile takes the time to get it 100%. He's been remarkable. Offense, defense, rebounding, leadership - he was in the All ACC teams discussion. But I'd rather him miss 10 games in December and January and none in March and April.

I hope Chase has a Christmas goose, turkey, ham, sirloin roast, all the trimmings, LOTS of figgy pudding, Christmas cookies, egg nog protein shakes out the hoo-hah and anything else that can add some useful bulk to his frame.

The pressure for Marshall to stay on the floor will be great, hopefully it won't stop him from continuing to be more assertive.

Positive vibes to Amile. Coach K knows Amile will come back stronger.

[moonpie23]

well, damn....


let's go chase...

[dukelifer]

As others have said, this sucks. Jefferson was one of our least replaceable commodities: a double-double guy who is also a terrific defender. We have plenty of bigs, but none who do what he does like he does. I suspect Jeter will see a big increase in minutes, with Plumlee, Kennard, Thornton, and Ingram seeing more minutes as well. We will probably go small more, otherwise this will really test Coach K's "we have 8 starters" statement as to truth or coachspeak. I suspect Obi and/or Vrankovic may bump up a few mpg, but not into the main rotation.

So a really young team just got MUCH younger. Let's hope the kids are up to it.

Also, let's hope the timeline for recovery is more like Ryan Kelly's rather than Irving's. If he can return by mid-February, we can have time to adjust back to his return.

Regardless, man does this stink for Jefferson. Nobody should get hurt, but it especially stinks for a kid that had paid his dues and is finally in the limelight.

My thoughts exactly. Amile was the guy who could settle down the team and so far he has been a rock on both ends of the floor. This young team is going to struggle without him- particularly on the road. I have liked what I have seen from Jeter. He will definitely get a chance now. Long term- this will pay dividends- short term, could be a big challenge.

[Jarhead]

Sorry for Amile, but just when did this happen? All of the praise for him in this thread is deserved, and the opportunity for him to improve as the season goes along would have been big time. What frustrates me the most is that I watched every minute of every game this year, but I don't recall the injury. In God, and Duke Medicine I trust, and a quick recovery for Amile, please.

[Tripping William]

Sorry for Amile, but just when did this happen? All of the praise for him in this thread is deserved, and the opportunity for him to improve as the season goes along would have been big time. What frustrates me the most is that I watched every minute of every game this year, but I don't recall the injury. In God, and Duke Medicine I trust, and a quick recovery for Amile, please.

I have not seen anything official, but I tend to think that Allen Iverson may have <ahem> the answer.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

What happens in February?

Duh, Valentine's Day

[BD80]

Duh, Valentine's Day

He wasn't that good of a ref ...

[Leelee902]

Remember -- Amile got his first chance to show us who he was his freshman year when Ryan Kelly went down with that foot injury. Even though we lost at NC State in his first game with real minutes, he definitely showed he belonged! Crossing fingers that Jeter has a similar trajectory.

[moonpie23]

Boozer's down, all is lost...

[Wahoo2000]

5th metatarsal? Turf toe? Achilles heal? We'll know when they want us to know. Personally I'm optoemistic it's not KyrieToe.

Get well soon, Amile.

Brogdon had the 5th metatarsal issue his first year. Needed surgery and had to redshirt the following season to get all the way back.

If that's what Jefferson has, hopefully rest/layoff will resolve the issue and he won't need surgery.

Other possibilities are a lisfranc (as someone else mentioned) that could've occurred in practice, or even a plantar fasciitis issue that could have been nagging him for awhile but getting worse by playing heavy minutes.

[kAzE]

I hope Chase has a Christmas goose, turkey, ham, sirloin roast, all the trimmings, LOTS of figgy pudding, Christmas cookies, egg nog protein shakes out the hoo-hah and anything else that can add some useful bulk to his frame.

The pressure for Marshall to stay on the floor will be great, hopefully it won't stop him from continuing to be more assertive.

Positive vibes to Amile. Coach K knows Amile will come back stronger.

I'm expecting Marshall to be up to the challenge. He won't replace 100% of Amile but with everyone counting on him to stay on the floor and really start asserting himself on the boards, I think he will average around 28 minutes and close to 9+ boards going forward. We don't really have any other choice. Defensively, I think we take a small step down, but if Chase can play well on D, I think we will be mostly okay there.

Offensively, this is a devastating blow. Amile was our best passer from the high post, and the only guy who could take a man 1 on 1 in the post and score. It would lower this team's ceiling immeasurably if he were lost for the season. We will likely attempt to replace his role on offense with Brandon, meaning even more touches and more shots for the freshman. He looked ready enough last game, so let's hope he just keeps it going.

[TKG]

I'm expecting Marshall to be up to the challenge

KAzE, while I agree with you about Marshall, he is going to need help. I wonder what this does to the 1-3-1 K has been running from time to time. Who mans the defense down low?

[madscavenger]

As integral as Amile is to the team, you cannot rush him. He's our best big on defense, maybe irreplaceable in terms of experience (both in employment and communication), and the most versatile, reliable big on O. But we have to move on. One very important aspect of this i don't recall seeing mentioned is the affect it has on practice.

i personally don't think this will be a sharing of responsibility situation as much as a restructuring. That will require experimentation beyond what we normally do pre-ACC. However, as has already been mentioned, we excel at incorporating change. Be patient. If anyone can find a way, K can (and i expect will).

[MarkD83]

I wish Amile a quick recovery and agree his injury is a blow to the team. However this is the type of situation where coach K does his best work. I am almost anxious like a kid waiting to open a Christmas present to see what coach K does

[tdrake51]

I am curious to see if this means more minutes for Luke or Thornton. I think Chase obviously gets a boost, but I think most of our minutes will be played with either Chase or Marshall, not both. Does Luke or Derryck slide into the starting lineup? Derryck is the obvious choice with Luke backing up all perimeter positions, but it wouldn't shock me to see Luke start.