Freshman center Emily Schubert will miss the 2016-17 season after tearing her ACL in practice this week, team spokesperson Lindy Brown confirmed after Schubert walked on to the court with her teammates at Countdown to Craziness wearing a knee brace.
A 6-foot-4 post prospect, Schubert signed with Duke in April after star forward Azurà Stevens transferred to Connecticut and was expected to provide depth up front moving forward. Schubert was not among ESPN's top 100 prospects in her recruiting class, but was a track and field standout who averaged 11.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game as a senior. Following the ACL injury, she is expected to apply for a medical redshirt.
Season-ending injuries are nothing new for Duke, which will have to bring multiple post prospects back into the fray after significant time off. Senior Oderah Chidom is the only returning Blue Devil who played a major part in the team's rotation last season, as classmate Kendall Cooper missed the spring semester and redshirt sophomore Lynee Belton is coming off multiple season-ending injuries. Junior forward Erin Mathias has only started three games in her career and averaged 1.8 points and 1.7 boards per contest in 2015-16.
With Maryland All-American transfer Lexie Brown and All-ACC guard Rebecca Greenwell in the backcourt, Duke's guards will likely make the team go this season, but further injuries up front could hurt the Blue Devils' depth and defense as the season progresses.
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