The Most Important Injury In College Basketball Was Suffered Last Night

We know what happened last night. In case you missed it, Hubbs recapped Syracuse going into Cameron and beating No. 1 Duke. However, that’s not the story. I mean, sure, Syracuse really needed that win and they tend to play Duke well. But, the real story is what happened early in the game to Tre Jones.

He suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out of the game. The immediate question was how serious is the injury and how long will it keep him out. Well, we found out pretty much right after the game as Coach K said he suffered an AC sprain. From a lot of reports it sounds like he’ll be out about 6 weeks.

That’s the most important injury in college basketball.

Yes, Zion is the best player in the country. Yes, RJ Barrett can go get buckets and be a playmaker. Yes, Cam Reddish is a likely top-5 pick. But, Tre Jones is the reason that Duke is so good defensively and can get these guys out in transition. Just look at the difference defensively last night from Jones on the court to off. The first 5 minutes of the game Syracuse could barely run anything offensively. Jones finished the game with 4 steals in his 6 minutes of action.

That’s where Duke will feel the loss immediately. He’s arguably the best on ball defender in the country. He creates havoc without having to send a double team or anything like that. He forces opposing offenses to start the offense at the 16 second mark instead of the 20 second mark. That matters. He forces turnovers.

That’s where Duke is at its best. They went to get out and run. They have two guys in Zion and Barrett that are two elite finishers in transition. Losing Jones, who typically starts that fast break and knows how to get them the lead pass takes away that transition. Mostly because now RJ has to become the playmaker and you lose him running a wing.

Simply put, Duke can’t win a title without Tre Jones. He’s that important to this team. I know, I know. They have the top-2 picks in the NBA Draft. But, they lose value when playing out of position.

Oh, to make matters even worse, Duke has to play Virginia in the first game without Jones. It’s going to be an injury to keep an eye on. It’s the most important injury in college basketball.