When the news came that Duke Blue Devils forward Cam Reddish would sit out of the Sweet 16 matchup, most were finding out after tip-off had already happened. The decision on Reddish’s status was made just prior to Friday’s game against the Virginia Tech Hokies, one the team went on to win 75-73 after another wild finish.
Reddish has been dealing with a knee injury which does not appear to be serious but has left his status for the Elite Eight matchup with the Michigan State Spartans up in the air. As Steve Wiseman of The News & Observer revealed, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was surprised when Reddish told the team he couldn’t play in the game.
“He’s had a little bit of a problem with his knee,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s not structural. Nothing structural. A jumper’s knee. Tendinitis. I guess there are a number of different things. At different times it can inhibit you or you feel pretty good and then you can play. Or you can work yourself through it. But (Friday) we weren’t able to do that.”
Hope remains that the freshman forward will suit up against Tom Izzo’s squad, but the latest outlook doesn’t appear to provide an overwhelming amount of optimism.
UPDATE: As Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported, Reddish is going through warmups but he will not start against Michigan State.
Cam Reddish Says Knee ‘Super, Super Sore’ Saturday
While Reddish was unable to give it a go Friday, his comments on Saturday offered some cause for concern. As ESPN revealed, the freshman said his knee was “super, super sore” just one day prior to the NCAA tournament game against the Spartans. He still hopes to be out on the floor and admitted it’s hard not suiting up with teammates.
“I mean, it hurts not to be out there with my brothers. I would [like to] play tomorrow,” Reddish said.
Duke went with Alex O’Connell in the starting lineup in place of Reddish against the Hokies. The sophomore guard logged 35 minutes while scoring four points with seven rebounds, two assists and one steal.
In the same media session before Sunday’s game, Reddish spoke about hoping to be 100 percent so he can return, as Wiseman detailed. The forward stated that he’s “just trying to get back to 100 percent” in order to return to the mix.
While it’s unknown if Reddish will be anywhere close to 100 percent, there’s a good chance he won’t be after just one day off. And in that case, there appears to be a reason to believe he could remain sidelined Sunday.
Injury Occurred During Loss to UNC, Tweaked It Thursday
In the same story above from The News & Observer’s Wiseman, Reddish says he felt something wrong in his knee during Duke’s loss to UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium. It was the same game in which Zion Williamson suffered his knee injury, and Reddish said he tried to play through it, stating that “Zion was out too so I had to go.”
He proceeded to point out the belief that he retweaked the knee injury on Thursday during practice and couldn’t get it to a point where he could play against Virginia Tech. Per Wiseman, the knee is swollen and he’s been going through massage therapy and cold tub sessions.
Reddish enters the day listed as a game-time decision and we should get more information as tip gets closer. For now, the Blue Devils may once again be looking to O’Connell to log big minutes if Reddish remains out, while a few others will need to step up alongside Williamson and RJ Barrett.
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