Duke’s injury bug has been a well-documented occurrence in the Duke basketball program over the last decade or more. There have been some devastating injuries that some would even believe cost the Blue Devils’ chances at national titles.
Last year’s team experienced some significant injury issues, including injuries to starting point guard Tyrese Proctor, which forced him to miss more than ten games last year. Jeremy Roach missed a few games as well. Caleb Foster was lost for the remainder of the season after a stress fracture in his foot was aggravated in the road game against Wake Forest.
Proctor and Foster return as significant pieces for the 2024-25 Duke team that seems ready to go after the team’s first practices. Even with that said, an injury has already impacted this year’s team.
Darren Harris is the first Blue Devil on this year’s team to suffer a significant injury. The program announced that the freshman, one of six 2024 signees for head coach Jon Scheyer, fractured his non-shotting hand at some point over the summer.
This injury would explain Darren Harris’ noticeable absence from the team’s player-specific highlight videos released on social media this week showcasing every scholarship team member.
Harris had surgery on Tuesday, the team said, and he is expected to make a full recovery.
Injury update: Freshman Darren Harris fractured his non-shooting hand over the summer. He had surgery on Tuesday at Duke Medical Center and is on track for a full recovery.
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) June 21, 2024
There is no official timetable for his return, but this type of injury typically requires a six-week recovery, meaning that Harris may miss the entire summer. The timeframe will put him on track to pick things back up as the team prepares for the season.
Harris came to Duke as the 2023-24 Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year and finished as the No. 37 player in the country, according to 247Sports. He led his high school, Fairfax (VA) Paul VI, to the national title game, where they faced off against his now-teammate Cooper Flagg and Montverde Academy. They finished with a 33-2 overall record, averaging 17.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.9 steals per game.
With his injury, Duke’s potential rotation log jam somewhat clears up.
It’s hard to imagine early in the season without practice time that Harris will contribute early. Fellow freshmen Isaiah Evans and Kon Knueppel look to fit into reserve roles off the bench, most likely. It also means that the addition of Sion James solidifies him as the team’s third guard for the foreseeable future, assuming Proctor and Foster are starters.
Haris’s potential as a shooter will be missed, but since the injury is not season-ending, Duke is hopeful he can come back and be a contributor at some point.