Duke Basketball: Impact of freshman AJ Griffin’s Injury on Blue Devils

Star freshman AJ Griffin has reportedly suffered an injury. How big a deal could this be for Duke Basketball?

When Mike Krzyzewski announced his retirement, effective at the end of this season, there were certainly dreams of him ending his coaching career on the highest note. Coach K has led Duke Basketball to five NCAA championships and this season is his final ride into the sunset. After last season’s Blue Devils didn’t even make the NCAA Tournament, there’s certainly extra motivation around campus for this Duke to be extremely special.

Unfortunately, a month before that season is set to begin, the Blue Devils are already dealing with untimely news. Five-star freshman forward AJ Griffin suffered a knee injury in practice and is expected to miss at least a month. It’s fortunate that the knee injury was not more severe, but Griffin’s absence will still have quite an impact both on him and on the rest of this Blue Devils roster.

The Blue Devils were expected to slide Griffin immediately into the starting lineup, with his size and length giving him the ability to play minutes all over the court. Griffin was expected to contribute immediately as one of Duke’s best shooters and the expectation was also that his defense and basketball IQ would make him an intriguing prospect as the season progressed. Before this knee injury, Griffin was projected to be a lottery pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Now, the injury raises a red flag for Griffin and for the Blue Devils. Griffin had only just gotten back into the action after missing all of last season with an ankle injury, and a knee injury sidelined him for some of his junior season in high school as well. This will be Griffin’s third straight season affected by knee or leg injuries, which starts to raise some red flags. Aside from all of that, this setback also prevents Griffin from getting important reps in practice, especially for a freshman still adjusting to the Duke game plan.

If Griffin misses significant time, it also leaves the Blue Devils in a bit of a crunch on the roster. Griffin is one of Duke’s three 5-star recruits for this season, but this is not a deep Duke roster, especially at forward. Former Marquette forward Theo John would likely slide into the starting lineup, though he too is still learning the offense just like Griffin. The injury would also mean additional playing time for Joey Baker, plus added responsibility for other starters like Paolo Banchero and Mark Williams.

In a way, this move could be a blessing for Duke Basketball, as it gives them a chance to get a better grasp of their depth. However, the move comes at quite the cost for Griffin, whose third impactful injury will only tarnish his future. It’s fortunate that these injuries have not all been to the same knee or leg, but it opens the possibility that Griffin could be injury-prone; that he could miss significant time in the NBA in future seasons.

The bottom line is that in Mike Krzyzewski’s final season, I’m sure he didn’t want to have to deal with shuffling his depth chart like this; we can merely hope that AJ Griffin will be able to play as full a season as possible this year.