Duke basketball will be without a key player in its quest for an NCAA Tournament title
Caleb Foster’s freshman season is over before he had a chance to experience playing in an NCAA Tournament game.
The Duke freshman guard’s right ankle injury, suffered last month, has not healed enough for him to play in the NCAA Tournament for the Blue Devils, Duke coach Jon Scheyer said Thursday.
“My heart breaks for Caleb,” Scheyer said, “because Caleb has done literally everything you could ask from a guy who has an injury and trying to get back out there.”
The Blue Devils (24-8), seeded No. 4 in the NCAA Tournament’s South Region, open tournament play Friday at 7:10 p.m. against No. 14 seed Vermont.
Foster hasn’t been in uniform for Duke’s past five games. He’s been on the team bench in street clothes wearing a protective boot on his right foot. He’s also used a knee scooter to move around while not putting weight on his injured foot.
Foster last played for the Blue Devils on Feb. 24, when he injured his right foot during an 83-79 loss at Wake Forest. Foster started but played only 22 minutes that day, missing the final 15:28 of the game.
Having played in 27 games this season, with 15 starts, Foster averages 7.7 points and has made 40.6% of his 3-pointers this season. The Wake Forest game, in which he was injured, was his third start in a row.
