When Duke's trip to Canada was announced last month, most felt as if it would be a good opportunity for the Blue Devils' core of freshmen to find on-court cohesion.
But Friday, it was revealed that two of Duke's top recruits will sit out the trip.
In a conference call, Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced that both Cam Reddish and Tre Jones will not play during Duke's three preseason contests in Toronto and Montreal. Krzyzewski said that Reddish is nursing a strained groin—not the foot injury that had him in a walking boot last month—and Jones has a hip injury that was first made public back in May when he initially arrived on campus.
"Tre Jones is doing well," Krzyzewski said. "He’s involved in some basketball-related activities now.... [Reddish] is doing some basketball-related activities and they both will be with us, but will not play."
The trip, which begins Wednesday, will still feature the nation's top two recruits in freshmen R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson as well as returners Marques Bolden and Javin DeLaurier.
"The main thing is not so much to practice strategy, but to get to know our team," Krzyzewski said about playing without Reddish and Jones. "It’s not just the freshmen, it’s the upperclassmen—How much have they improved since last season?— and giving them an opportunity to play. We’ll look at all of our players."
The team is set to arrive in Toronto Monday, before later traveling to Montreal following its second game Aug. 17.
This is a developing story. Check back for further updates.
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