A top-20 recruit in the Class of 2023, guard Caleb Foster provided the Duke Blue Devils with depth and additional scoring as a freshman.
That’s until the 6-foot-5 guard went down to an ankle injury February 28 against Louisville. Foster has missed each of the past five games heading into Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener againt Vermont.
We now have more information on Foster’s status for Friday’s game and moving forward from head coach Jon Scheyer. As CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein notes, Foster will miss the entire tournament with the aforementioned ankle injury.
This is a potentially significant loss for the Blue Devils as they ride a two-game losing streak into the tournament.
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Duke Blue Devils’ depth tested with Caleb Foster injury news
Foster started 15 of the 27 games in which he appeared as a freshman, averaging 7.7 points to go with 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 41% shooting from distance.
Sophomore Tyrese Proctor will likely be asked to do more from a scoring standpoint with Foster out. He’s averaging 10.5 points per game on the season.
Duke’s rotation pretty much goes six deep. With Foster sidelined, it has to be expanded. That means more minutes for Ryan Young. He’s averaging just 2.9 points in less than 12 minutes per game this season.
The Blue Devils are not in a great position to begin with. They lost their regular season finale to the hated North Carolina Tar Heels before losing in their ACC Tournament opener against North Carolina State.
Being in a South Region with Houston, Marquette and Kentucky doesn’t help matter, either.