Duke notes: Jaylen Blakes bounces back

DALLAS – The way Jaylen Blakes went up and, more so, the way he landed on his upper back and neck area during last weekend’s win over James Madison scared anybody watching.

Based on that, maybe it shouldn’t be that surprising that Duke’s junior guard scares his teammates with falls like that one on a regular basis.

“If you ask my teammates, I’ve probably taken a couple of falls in practice that look a little crazy,” Blakes told Devils Illustrated on Thursday, “but I don’t know of that nature.

“I’ve definitely had my fair share of falls. I’ve been told the ground is undefeated.”

It’s important to note that Blakes was saying all of this without a neck brace on. The 6-2, 204-pounder is ready to play in Friday night’s Sweet 16 game against Houston.

“Thankful for all of the prayers because they probably saved me from a vicious fall,” Blakes said. “I think for me, I’m grateful to be here, grateful to be healthy and able to play.”

When Blakes plays, he has one speed. If the only play you’ve seen of him were the one that featured his hard crash, you’d know that much about him. He plays with what his teammates call “reckless abandon,” but Blakes also said the play “epitomizes who I am as a player.”

Once Blakes got to his feet, he was making his way back to Duke’s bench. A flagrant-1 was called on JMU’s Noah Freidel and Blakes thought he was taking the free throws.

“I had to take the free throws, but then I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s probably not the best for me to take the free throws in this moment,” Blakes said. “Just from the impact of the fall, I was a little dazed.”

Blakes is good to go now, though. That much can’t be overstated on the eve of Duke’s Sweet 16 game against Houston.

“That was really scary in the moment. Fortunately, Jaylen got back the next morning,” coach Jon Scheyer said. “You always wonder the next day how they feel and with a fall like that, and Jaylen has been great. He's felt really good.”

Here are a couple of other notable things ahead of Duke’s game against Houston:

Duke’s freshman guard remains out for the season, but his participation changed from last week to this one.

Foster stretched with the Blue Devils during the open portion of their practice on Thursday. He did so without a brace or anything on his right foot, which has a stress fracture that means he’ll miss the rest of the season, as Scheyer said last week.

It was a positive sign for Foster, though, as last week in Brooklyn he spent Duke’s open practice on the bench and with a walking boot on his foot.

During Thursday’s open locker room segment, Foster had the boot back on, but was moving without the assistance of the scooter (Knee Rover) that he was using in the weeks following the injury.

CBS’s top team is at Duke’s site for the second straight week, meaning Stewart has more time to spend with his former neighbor and mentor.

The relationship between Duke’s freshman forward and its Hall of Famer who calls games for CBS is well documented. After Duke’s practice on Thursday, Stewart again had a chance to chat with Hill for a little bit.

The topic of conversation? Hill’s MMA-fighting daughter Myla, who trains in Dallas.

“She’s crazy, watch some of her highlights, it’s wild,” Stewart said of Myla.

Here are some of those highlights.

Could she beat up the 6-9, 227-pound Stewart?

“Pssh, yeah, she would. Not even gonna lie. She’s got the skills,” he said with a laugh.