Coach K shed light on Duke freshman AJ Griffin’s injury. How much will it set him back?
While the long-term outlook appears good for AJ Griffin, the Duke freshman’s knee injury did occur at a crucial time that could impact his development this season.
A 6-foot-6, 225-pound forward and five-star recruit from New York, Griffin sprained his right knee in practice last Friday. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said Griffin is no longer using crutches, but he faces important rehabilitation before he can return to the court.
“He’s very positive,” Krzyzewski said. “You know, the prognosis is great. It’s not something that can be, like, long term because there was no damage done that needs surgery.”
That said, this is the third season in a row Griffin has suffered an injury that’s kept him sidelined for an extended period.
An ankle injury kept him off the court for his entire senior season at Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains, New York. He played just 12 games as a junior because of an injury to the opposite knee he injured last week.
“It’s tough when a kid sustains repetitive injuries,” Krzyzewski said. “They are not necessarily the same injury, but you don’t have continuity of work. So you might get to a level then you are knocked back. It’s particularly tough for freshmen during this time of year because you are learning a lot right now. So if he’s out, and again I don’t know the time period but let’s say it’s a month, that’s really difficult.”
Griffin has a high basketball IQ because his father, Adrian, played in the NBA for 10 years and is now an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors. Alan Griffin, AJ’s older brother, played at Illinois before completing his college career at Syracuse last season. Their sister, Aubrey, plays at Connecticut.
However, because of his previous injuries, AJ Griffin arrived at Duke behind other players in development because his playing time was curtailed, not just in high school but on the summer circuit.
“He went to one of the great high schools and an amazing high school coach,” Krzyzewski said. “He didn’t have the benefit of being coached by that coach, Pat (Massaroni), and being at that school last year. That sets a kid back. But it’s particularly bad when a freshman gets hurt because this is their main time for growth. So we’ll see how that all moves along.”
Duke opens the regular season Nov. 9 against Kentucky in the Champions Classic at New York’s Madison Square Garden and has a busy first month of games.
Griffin could miss that game, as well as home games with Army (Nov. 12), Campbell (Nov. 13) and Gardner-Webb (Nov. 16), if he’s out four-to-six weeks.
Duke’s next major nonconference tests are Nov. 26 against Gonzaga in Las Vegas and an ACC-Big Ten Challenge game at Ohio State on Nov. 30.
This story was originally published October 12, 2021 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Coach K shed light on Duke freshman AJ Griffin’s injury. How much will it set him back?."