AJ Griffin Knee Vigil

[CDu]

The reporting now says sprain not dislocation, and indefinite timetable.

From posts above, it appears that sprain is the word Coach K used. That would seem more positive than dislocation.

[dukelifer]

The reporting now says sprain not dislocation, and indefinite timetable.

From posts above, it appears that sprain is the word Coach K used. That would seem more positive than dislocation.

For sure

[jimsumner]

And they’re spectacular?

I just hope that missing several weeks of practice doesn’t set Griffin back for the rest of the season. It is hard enough for a freshman to get used to college basketball but missing the practice time really doesn’t help. This is why I’m glad we have some depth, even if it is clearly a step down.

It's not just that. A combination of injuries and covid have kept Griffin on the sidelines for a long time and even before this injury he was still working off the rust. Now, he's even further behind.

[JasonEvans]

It's not just that. A combination of injuries and covid have kept Griffin on the sidelines for a long time and even before this injury he was still working off the rust. Now, he's even further behind.

Yeah, between his rust and the odds that he will be at least a little bit tentative (after numerous leg injuries) when he comes back, I'm quite fearful for AJ's chances of being successful at Duke.

[dukelifer]

Yeah, between his rust and the odds that he will be at least a little bit tentative (after numerous leg injuries) when he comes back, I'm quite fearful for AJ's chances of being successful at Duke.

Never good for a Freshman to lose the beginning of the season. Even Tatum took a while to get rolling and he was much better than AJ. Duke can manage the loss but he is a key part to having a championship caliber season.

[dm9e24]

Get to find out if those Trevor-Keels-is-tearing-it-up-in-practice rumors are real.

Not sure if tearing it up would be the right description, but watching the practice live today, he was very solid and looks to be in the first 5. Actually no one tore it up. A lot of guys played well. Looks to me like Johns and AJ were in the top 7. In the 12 minute scrimmage, Baker looked to take AJ's place in the top seven.

Bates Jones shot the ball very well and more than held his own defensively against Paolo. He is very fundamentally sound and has a bulldog demeanor. Not that that means he is going to get a lot of minutes, but he stood out in this practice.

[dukelifer]

Not sure if tearing it up would be the right description, but watching the practice live today, he was very solid and looks to be in the first 5. Actually no one tore it up. A lot of guys played well. Looks to me like Johns and AJ were in the top 7. In the 12 minute scrimmage, Baker looked to take AJ's place in the top seven.

Bates Jones shot the ball very well and more than held his own defensively against Paolo. He is very fundamentally sound and has a bulldog demeanor. Not that that means he is going to get a lot of minutes, but he stood out in this practice.

The Jones family has been very good for Duke. Time for Bates to do his part.

[jipops]

Yeah, between his rust and the odds that he will be at least a little bit tentative (after numerous leg injuries) when he comes back, I'm quite fearful for AJ's chances of being successful at Duke.

Yea me too. This feels like another Harry Giles-type situation.

[Music man55]

Hate to hear AJ got this injury and for his sake and Dukes’, I hope he can come back and get in game shape by conference games. My biggest concern right now is keeping my fingers crossed that he will be able to work through the rust he will certainly have by the first of the year. I am sure the top notch care he will receive will allow him to make a full recovery. Let’s go Duke!!

[chrishoke]

Yea me too. This feels like another Harry Giles-type situation.

This is where I'm at. AJ was already way behind because of prior injury. I'd be surprised if he can be an impact player this year. Very sad for him and the team,

[Steven43]

Yeah, between his rust and the odds that he will be at least a little bit tentative (after numerous leg injuries) when he comes back, I'm quite fearful for AJ's chances of being successful at Duke.

Huh? Griffin has four years to make an impact at Duke. Don’t worry, Jason, he’ll probably be 100% by the beginning of his sophomore season. 😉

[arnie]

Huh? Griffin has four years to make an impact at Duke. Don’t worry, Jason, he’ll probably be 100% by the beginning of his sophomore season. 😉

Maybe 5 to make impact if they redshirt him this year😎

[budwom]

I think the "updates" we get in the future will consist of the usual "he's making progress," and not a word more.

[MChambers]

Maybe 5 to make impact if they redshirt him this year😎

K will burn his redshirt in February.

[uh_no]

K will burn his redshirt in February.

spoiler alert: DBR 2027 will still be debating about said burning.

[SkyBrickey]

I’m staying optimistic that this is nothing close to Harry Giles. Harry had two torn ligaments and surgeries before arriving at Duke. This is a lot less serious. Keels and Baker have a chance to step up. AJ’s offense may be the slowest to develop when he gets back, but he’s the type of player who can impact the game in a lot of ways.

[CDu]

I’m staying optimistic that this is nothing close to Harry Giles. Harry had two torn ligaments and surgeries before arriving at Duke. This is a lot less serious. Keels and Baker have a chance to step up. AJ’s offense may be the slowest to develop when he gets back, but he’s the type of player who can impact the game in a lot of ways.

Yeah, while it is certainly not a good thing for a player who has missed so much game time to miss even 2-3 weeks (note: both the report of a dislocation and the 4-6 week timeline have been scrapped in more recent reporting), I'm also not agreeng the dire Harry Giles concerns yet either. For a a few reasons:
1. While he has now had two knee injuries, neither was nearly as serious as Giles' injuries.
2. While he missed game action the past two years, it isn't like he's been unable to get in work (unlike Giles who missed over a year and a half of basketball related activities). Griffin played part of his junior year (missed a few weeks with a sprained knee but otherwise played). He missed out on games last year because of the pandemic, but did get to train/practice with an NBA team instead.

Now, he hasn't played organized games since his junior year of high school, and he was reportedly trailing Keels in practice. So it's obviously not ideal to miss more time. Especially if it ends up being 4-6 weeks. But if it turns out to be 2-3 weeks? Then hopefully by mid-November it becomes a non-issue.

The other thing to keep in mind is that he is probably not going to be asked to carry the offense. There are enough different weapons that I'd imagine his offensive role was going to be more of an off-ball player anyway. So there's already less impact than there would be if, say, our starting PG or best player got hurt.

Definitely not an ideal situation though. But I'm not ready to call it a devastating blow or a dire situation for the future of this team.

[scottdude8]

While losing a potential lottery pick for any period of time is never a plus, I think it’s worth squashing any “the sky is falling” talk before it gets rolling.

K likes an 8 man rotation. We still have a very strong one:
Theo will spell Paolo and Mark (at the 4 and 5) for 15-20 minutes.
Joey can spell Trevor and Wendell (at the 2 and 3) for 15-20 minutes.
Jaylen can spell Jeremy (at the 1) for 5 or so minutes.

As I see it, the biggest differences between this rotation and what we envisioned are 1) Blakes having to play minutes at the 1 sooner than we expected in place of Wendell, 2) Joey having to play more minutes, and 3) Theo having to play more minutes since we don’t have the luxury of sliding AJ down to the 4 periodically.

Arguably that’s more of a “traditional” lineup that is still very viable and talented, with the biggest “if” being Joey living up to the potential we’ve seen/heard this summer. Losing AJ loses us a potentially special talent and a lot of versatility, but I don’t see it forcing anyone into any potentially problematic positions. It’s not like we’re all of a sudden going to have to play Paolo at the 3 or something like that (not to say that couldn’t potentially work given how special he seems).

I said in another thread about the recent 5v5 scrimmage that it would be interesting to see how AJ might work as a super sixth man able to step in at the 2-4 spots. This injury may have forced us into this situation, especially if Trevor steps up and claims his spot. But the 8 man rotation K likes is still there in plain sight.

TL;DR: This news sucks but doesn’t dim my high expectations for this season, even if we may be less talented at the start.

[Steven43]

Now, he hasn't played organized games since his junior year of high school, and he was reportedly trailing Keels in practice.

What does it mean that he was “reportedly trailing Keels in practice”?

Just looking for a bit of clarification, thanks.

[CDu]

What does it mean that he was “reportedly trailing Keels in practice”?

Just looking for a bit of clarification, thanks.

Keels was playing better.