Duke men's basketball's AJ Griffin injures knee at practice

Freshman forward AJ Griffin suffered a knee injury at a Friday practice, The Devils Den's Adam Rowe first reported and the team leam later confirmed.

Griffin sprained his knee and the MRI showed that there was no significant structural damage, the release said. 

This news is a massive blow to Duke’s rotation as Griffin was the projected No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Griffin was still getting back into the swing of things after missing his entire senior season with an ankle injury, though his talent and basketball IQ are off the charts and head coach Mike Krzyzewski spoke highly of his summer workouts. 

Griffin's absence means Duke is looking at a thin rotation that is in need of replacing Griffin's athleticism, shooting abilities and defense, all things that are much easier said than done. The first of that list is likely not possible but if the Blue Devils are to have success this year, senior Joey Baker is going to have to refind his sophomore self and then some and freshman guard Jaylen Blakes may be looking at more playing time than previously thought. 

In all, Krzyzewski is going to have to do some serious shuffling of the deck to play around with new lineup combinations to make up for the loss until Griffin's return.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article said that Griffin dislocated his knee and would be out 4-6 weeks. Griffin suffered a knee sprain, not a dislocation and the team has not released a time table on his return. The Chronicle regrets the error.