RALEIGH—Duke snapped a three-game losing streak with an 88-78 win at N.C. State Saturday afternoon, but one of the day's biggest developments took place off the court.
Senior Amile Jefferson—sidelined since Dec. 14 with a fractured right foot—stood on the sidelines before the game without a walking boot, an encouraging sign for a Blue Devil squad strapped for frontcourt depth.
After the game, head coach Mike Krzyzewski seemed cautiously optimistic about Jefferson's progress, but made clear that the captain's timetable to return is still uncertain.
"What he’s able to do is start trying to walk the right way...he’ll have some stuff in his shoe, but we’re trying to get him to walk properly," Krzyzewski said. "He’s doing stuff in the pool, but there’s still no timetable. The bone is healed pretty well, but he’s just not there."
Saturday's game was the 11th Duke has played without Jefferson, during which time Krzyzewski's squad is 7-4. Despite sticking to a frontcourt that consisted of graduate student Marshall Plumlee and freshman swingman Brandon Ingram—plus one minute of redshirt sophomore Sean Obi—the Blue Devils outrebounded the Wolfpack 31-28 and won the battle of points in the paint, 36-34.
The return of Jefferson—who was averaging a double-double through nine games prior to his injury—will only help as the Blue Devils get deeper into their ACC schedule.
"I still think it’s a while, but it is good to see him not in the damn boot, and for him too," Krzyzewski said. "He’s dying, he wants to play so badly."
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