By Louis Fernandez, WRAL Sports

Duke will be without forward Maliq Brown for “an extended period of time,” head coach Jon Scheyer told reporters on Monday morning. Brown sprained his knee in the first half of Duke’s 86-78 win against Notre Dame on Saturday.

“He’ll miss weeks, could be longer, but he’s going to be out the next several games, minimum,” Scheyer said.

Brown, a junior transfer from Syracuse, has proven to be a pivotal rotational piece for the Blue Devils dominant defense this season. He provides a solid presence in the frontcourt at 6’9″ and has served as a great compliment to players like freshman Cooper Flagg.

“There’s no replacing Maliq’s versatility and what he does on that end with deflections and steals,” Scheyer said. “It’s a big loss, the reality though, I don’t think he’s been quite right. He had a toe injury he was still recovering from, I think this is a chance for him to get really right and get back to the level he was playing at, so we’ve got to get him better.”

Brown is averaging about 18 minutes per game. He’s 4th on the team in rebounds per game (4.5) and 2nd on the team in steals per game (1.5).

In the meantime, look for players like freshman Patrick Ngongba and Purdue transfer Mason Gillis to get more run.

“Collectively we need to step up, but I also don’t want to just brush aside the importance of Maalik to our team and what he means,” Scheyer said.

Duke is 14-2, 6-0 in ACC play this season. The Blue Devils will host Miami on Tuesday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Tipoff is at 9 p.m. on ESPN.

Source: wralsportsfan.com