Duke freshman point guard Kyrie Irving has a “serious” toe injury and could potentially miss the remainder of the year, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
“Kyrie’s injury is a serious one,” said Krzyzewski, who moved into third place on the all-time wins list behind Bob Knight and Dean Smith after Duke’s 83-48 win over Bradley Wednesday night.
“It’s being evaluated by our medical team here at Duke and with medical people from different parts of the country who are experts in foot injuries. Some type of analysis should be done hopefully by a week to 10 days and a course of action will be taken based on that analysis.
“It’s a serious injury. I can’t say anything more because we are learning information but it is serious and whatever final decision is made will obviously what’s in his best interest and his career. Not to save him for any period of time or whatever, but he could be out or a long time.”
When Coach K was asked if the West Orange, N.J. native could miss the remainder of the year, he said, “He could be, he could be.”
Irving got tangled up with Butler’s Matt Howard on the wing during the second half of Duke’s 82-70 victory Saturday at the Izod Center. He said after the game he “stumped” his toe and also used the word “sprained.”
Irving scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half of that game, and returned after the injury to hit two foul shots.
Irving is off to a terrific start in his freshman season at Duke reaching double-figures in scoring in all eight games. The three-time ACC Rookie of the Week selection is the third leading freshman scorer in the country at 17.4 points per game and also ranks in the top 10 of the ACC in six statistical categories (scoring, assists, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio).
Irving was named ACC Rookie of the Week on Dec. 6 after averaging 26.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game in wins over No. 6 Michigan State and Butler.
The former St. Patrick star opened the week with a 31-point, six-rebound, four-assist effort in an 84-79 win over Michigan State. Irving was 8-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point range, and 13-of-16 from the foul line in the contest. His 31-points against the Spartans is tied for the second-most by a Duke freshman, while the 13 made free throws is a new Duke freshman record.
Irving added 21 points, two rebounds and two assists in Saturday’s win over Butler in a rematch of the 2010 National Championship game. He finished 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-6 from three-point range and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Irving scored 17 second half points as Duke broke open a 33-33 tie to post its sixth double-figure win of the season. Irving scored Duke’s first seven points of the second half and added eight straight points for the Blue Devils around the eight-minute mark to help hold off a Butler charge. Irving was 4-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point distance, over the final 20-minutes of play.
(Photo courtesy GoDuke.com)
