Has Coach K ever talked in more detail about Chase Jeter's injury/availability?

[scottdude8]

I know Chase's absence in the middle of the season was due to his back injury... but I haven't heard anything more than that in the weeks and months following. I'm not sure even if he was fully healthy he'd be getting many, if any, minutes down the stretch (especially considering how Bolden has fallen out of the consistent rotation), but has K or anyone else ever directly addressed whether he's practicing or available for games?

I ask because I was really impressed by Chase's play early in the season with all of the team's injury problems, and I think he's got a great future if he's allowed to develop as a Blue Devil. When it seems like every year we end up lamenting Duke's lack of depth up front, a healthy Chase could've been a factor this year, and most definitely could play a big role next year IMHO.

Anyways, I know this isn't the most crucial subject heading into the UNC game tomorrow, but I was curious if anyone knew of any updates since I think this story has sort of fallen through the cracks given how unusual of a season this has been. I also very easily could've just missed this amongst the deluge of news we've had this year.

GTHCGTH

[94duke]

Some follow-on questions, too.
In how many games did he play?
When was the last game he played?
Does this make him eligible for a medical red-shirt?

[yancem]

Some follow-on questions, too.
In how many games did he play?
When was the last game he played?
Does this make him eligible for a medical red-shirt?

The last one is one that I have posed on Devils Den a couple of times with no response. I would have to think based on his earlier performances that he would be getting at least some minutes if he was physically able to play. So he almost must not healthy enough to play or he is healthy enough to play but not healthy enough to be of enough value to risk loosing a year of eligibility. I think the amount of playing to be eligible for a red shirt is based on percentages of a teams games a player appears in. If that is correct, Duke may need a deep run in order for that percentage to be low enough for him to qualify.

The other ugly possibility is that he has decided to transfer and the coaches would rather invest in Bolden looking toward next year since there is likely a marginal difference between the two but that is pure speculation.

[JasonEvans]

Some follow-on questions, too.
In how many games did he play?
When was the last game he played?
Does this make him eligible for a medical red-shirt?

Chase's last game was the loss to Louisville on 1/14.

Chase has played in 16 games. He is certainly beyond the point at which he would be eligible for a medical redshirt. It depends on exactly how many games a team plays, but the redshirt mark is 30% of the team's total season. So, if Duke plays 40 games in a season, a player cannot appear in more than 12 games. The player also cannot appear in any games past the mid-point of the season.

-Jason "Duke has said very little about Chase. It is hard, at this point, to know if his absence is due to injury, conditioning as he comes back from the injury, or simply that K does not feel Chase should get time ahead of Jefferson, Giles, and Bolden" Evans

[Troublemaker]

I know Chase's absence in the middle of the season was due to his back injury... but I haven't heard anything more than that in the weeks and months following. I'm not sure even if he was fully healthy he'd be getting many, if any, minutes down the stretch (especially considering how Bolden has fallen out of the consistent rotation), but has K or anyone else ever directly addressed whether he's practicing or available for games?

As is typical for Duke, we haven't heard much. We know he had a surgery, and we know he's now available for practice. If I had to guess -- the time he missed due to surgery and recovery put him behind Giles and Bolden, who are better talents to begin with anyway. So Chase is now the 4th center on the depth chart and should not be expected to enter games except in extreme foul trouble situations.

Some follow-on questions, too.
In how many games did he play?
When was the last game he played?
Does this make him eligible for a medical red-shirt?

Chase is not eligible for a medical redshirt. He has played in 16 games, which is over the 30% cutoff for a medical redshirt.

[FerryFor50]

Chase's last game was the loss to Louisville on 1/14.

Chase has played in 16 games. He is certainly beyond the point at which he would be eligible for a medical redshirt. It depends on exactly how many games a team plays, but the redshirt mark is 30% of the team's total season. So, if Duke plays 40 games in a season, a player cannot appear in more than 12 games. The player also cannot appear in any games past the mid-point of the season.

-Jason "Duke has said very little about Chase. It is hard, at this point, to know if his absence is due to injury, conditioning as he comes back from the injury, or simply that K does not feel Chase should get time ahead of Jefferson, Giles, and Bolden" Evans

I suspect it's talent related. Jeter was really only getting minutes early in the year because of all the injuries. Time will tell if he pans out as a Blue Devil.

[Indoor66]

I have differ with the 50 man above. I think his lack of playing is caused by his back surgery. I am not a doctor but have been around disk issues and they can be both painful and nagging. Prior to his surgery he was playing well, as I recall.

[FerryFor50]

I have differ with the 50 man above. I think his lack of playing is caused by his back surgery. I am not a doctor but have been around disk issues and they can be both painful and nagging. Prior to his surgery he was playing well, as I recall.

He absolutely was playing well. But he isn't going to beat out Amile, Bolden or Giles IMO. Duke's best offense is when Tatum is at the 4. So you're looking at a 4 man rotation at the center spot if Jeter plays. Not enough minutes to go around.

[Indoor66]

He absolutely was playing well. But he isn't going to beat out Amile, Bolden or Giles IMO. Duke's best offense is when Tatum is at the 4. So you're looking at a 4 man rotation at the center spot if Jeter plays. Not enough minutes to go around.

At the time he went down he was, IMO, outplaying both of those freshmen.

[Kedsy]

He absolutely was playing well. But he isn't going to beat out Amile, Bolden or Giles IMO. Duke's best offense is when Tatum is at the 4. So you're looking at a 4 man rotation at the center spot if Jeter plays. Not enough minutes to go around.

He played 17 minutes against Louisville and hasn't played a single minute since. I don't know what (my guess is the back surgery), but it would seem there's something going on other than not being good enough to play.

[Saratoga2]

He played 17 minutes against Louisville and hasn't played a single minute since. I don't know what (my guess is the back surgery), but it would seem there's something going on other than not being good enough to play.

The curtain of silence lends itself to speculation. Next year we already have a replacement for Amile coming so the competition will not be getting any easier.

[FerryFor50]

He played 17 minutes against Louisville and hasn't played a single minute since. I don't know what (my guess is the back surgery), but it would seem there's something going on other than not being good enough to play.

I believe that, back then, Bolden and Giles were still working back from injury - conditioning, as well as defensive rotations were keeping them out of the lineup. Then, Chase hurt his back and was out for a bit. By the time he was dressing again, Bolden and Giles had surpassed him.

[scottdude8]

Thanks for all the responses! So it sounds like the answer to the question posed in the thread title is essentially "no"... K hasn't given any further info about Chase.

I guess the follow up question would be what role there is for him on the team going forward. I'm a big fan of his, as I think he performed admirably under adverse conditions both last year and in the beginning of this year. We expect a lot of freshmen, especially consensus top 25 recruits, in the one-and-done era, but it's entirely OK for a player to not be entirely ready to contribute in his years as an underclassman despite prodigious talent. Not everyone can have the body of Justice Winslow, Jahlil Okafor or Jason Tatum as a 18 or 19 year old. In another era we wouldn't have given it much thought at all. I still think a junior/senior year, healthy Chase Jeter would be a solid contributor in the ACC.

A couple posters brought up the specter of a potential transfer. I REALLY hope that isn't the case, given what I mentioned above, the fact that he's an Academic All-ACC guy, and he seems by all account to be an amazing teammate. However, there are some parallels between his trajectory this season and that of Michael Gbinije back in 2012 which make me nervous: Gbinije was a top 25 recruit, played a bit at the beginning of the year, seemed to be growing into a role in the rotation, then suddenly and conspicuously fell out of the rotation entirely midway through the year... I was at The Chronicle at the time, and it was common knowledge in the cramped quarters of 301 Flowers that Gbinije had already made clear his desire to transfer and that was the cause of the sudden change, although this wasn't something that could be reported since it was at the time more of a well-trusted rumor then something that was a real story.

Obviously there are key differences between the two cases as well, the main one being Chase's injury (and another being that Chase is a sophomore, as opposed to the freshman Gbinije). If it really is a nagging injury, as back injuries tend to be, then keeping him out for health reasons considering we don't really need him at the moment makes a lot of sense. But, if he has recovered and still isn't playing at all, that makes me a bit nervous. Hence why I was hoping there was some solid news about said injury, which unfortunately doesn't seem to be the case.

I won't say any more at risk of stoking speculation (I think everything I said above is in the realm of solid, factual analysis, or at least I hope, haha), but let me conclude with saying I can't wait to see the player Chase becomes, even if we have to wait until perhaps his senior year.

GTHCGTH

[Chard]

At the time he went down he was, IMO, outplaying both of those freshmen.

I agree. He was an experienced big that was ahead of the freshmen.

Back surgery. Back. Surgery. You don't just come back from that and pop right back into the lineup with two other talented bigs.

I like Jeter. He is going to be great next year.

[Rich]

I agree. He was an experienced big that was ahead of the freshmen.

Back surgery. Back. Surgery. You don't just come back from that and pop right back into the lineup with two other talented bigs.

I like Jeter. He is going to be great next year.

If I recall correctly (and I didn't go back and Google it), Duke never said he had back surgery, but that he had a procedure for his back. Now, that could be a micro discectomy, more commonly known as back surgery and, as far as I know, what Coach K had done. He also could have had an epidural steroid injection (ESI), which is a minimally invasive procedure that can help relieve back pain caused by spinal stenosis, spondylolysis, or disc herniation.

I'm not an athlete, but have had both procedures. I had a discectomy a number of years ago for a herniated disc and it took me a good 9-12 months before I was back to how I was before the herniated disc issue. I had a flare up many years later and went for the ESI even though, anecdotally, it only works about 50% of the time. It worked for me and I felt a hundred times better in a few days.

I don't know what procedure they did on Jeter, but it wasn't necessarily back surgery if it was just reported as a back procedure.

[Kedsy]

I believe that, back then, Bolden and Giles were still working back from injury - conditioning, as well as defensive rotations were keeping them out of the lineup. Then, Chase hurt his back and was out for a bit. By the time he was dressing again, Bolden and Giles had surpassed him.

Chase last played against Louisville (17 minutes). Harry played 19 minutes in the Louisville game, his fifth straight game with double-figure minutes (average of 16.6 mpg in the five games). Marques played 15 minutes against Georgia Tech, 10 days before the Louisville game. In his five games up to and including Louisville, he played exactly the same number of minutes (34) as he has in his last eight games currently. So it would seem unlikely that those guys were any less able to play during Chase's last few games than they are now. In the games since Chase stopped playing, Antonio Vrankovic played 8 minutes (2 games) and Jack White played 3 minutes (1 game). Javin got into a game too (albeit just for a few seconds). Had all those guys also surpassed Chase? I just think if Chase is healthy and available that it's weird he hasn't played a single minute. There has to be something else going on.

[mkirsh]

I agree. He was an experienced big that was ahead of the freshmen.

Back surgery. Back. Surgery. You don't just come back from that and pop right back into the lineup with two other talented bigs.

I like Jeter. He is going to be great next year.

Not that this is anything definitive, but watching him in person in warmups a few weeks ago he was moving well and actually threw down some dunks that showed much more athleticism than anything I had seen from him before. Obviously doesn't mean that his back could withstand low post banging in a game situation, but he didn't look like someone who was debilitated from back surgery.

[MarkD83]

Let's not forget Chase is doing great in the classroom.

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.db...DB_OEM_ID=4200

and we should all be proud of that accomplishment!!!

[YmoBeThere]

Time will tell if he pans out as a Blue Devil.

I'm sorry, this is nonsensical. His work in the classroom, as evidenced by his second All-Academic ACC mention, certainly shows that he has panned out as a Blue Devil.

[YmoBeThere]

Let's not forget Chase is doing great in the classroom.

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.db...DB_OEM_ID=4200

and we should all be proud of that accomplishment!!!

Replied to the upthread comment before seeing your comment, I agree wholeheartedly.