SAN ANTONIO – Duke played 80 minutes of basketball last week in Newark, N.J.
Maliq Brown was on the court for 6 minutes, 48 seconds of that.
And you can argue Brown had one of the most important plays of the week, grabbing an offensive rebound — his only counting stat of the game — and prolonging a possession that ended in a Caleb Foster 3-pointer to quell an Alabama surge.
With 1½ shoulders, Duke’s reserve center is still going to make an impact.
“Not trying to look too much at my injury or whatever was going on with me,” Brown said on Thursday at the Alamodome. “Just trying to help the team as much as I could and just not letting whatever was going on with me affect the team. Trying to just keep doing what I’ve gotta do to help this team win.”
Brown’s return against Arizona last Thursday marked the third time this season he has returned from a four-game absence because of an injury. The first one, in January, was because of a knee injury; the last two were because of a dislocated left shoulder.
Centers Khaman Maluach (two fouls) and Patrick Ngongba II (three) were both in trouble against Arizona. That’s when Brown came in for about four minutes and had one rebound, one assist and one steal.
“What he does for us, he doesn't necessarily shoot a lot, so it's about his health and physical readiness,” coach Jon Scheyer said of Brown in between Duke’s games last week. “We want to protect him at the same time, and you're balancing when he's fully ready with also the time is running out for the season.
“So that's been a balancing act for me, to be honest. It's been something we've struggled with. But the fact that his mindset is to do whatever to help us win, I think is an incredible thing as a coach to have a guy that thinks that way.”
Brown wasn’t wearing a brace at his locker during Duke’s open-locker room session on Thursday. He said practice on Friday would determine whether he’s wearing the same brace that he donned last week.
Brown also said he isn’t sure yet whether the injury will require surgery after the season ends.
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