Prognosis (mostly) positive for Trevor Keels
Duke’s freshman guard might not return for Tuesday’s game, but should be back relatively soon
DURHAM – When Jeremy Roach saw Trevor Keels’ injury at Florida State – and the freshman’s right leg fold underneath his body briefly – he feared the worst for his current Duke teammate and former high school and AAU teammate.
“Just from my experience, I tore my ACL my junior year, so when anybody goes down like that, that’s kind of the first thing I think of,” Roach said after Duke’s 79-59 dismantling of Syracuse on Saturday. “I’m just glad it’s not what it could have been.”
Despite Keels missing the Blue Devils’ win on Saturday, that’s the prevailing thought about Keels’ injury.
What initially looked like a catastrophic injury might keep Keels out of Tuesday night’s game against Clemson, but it’s not expected to keep the promising and physically impressive freshman out for much longer.
“When he got hurt against Florida State, it looked like it would be an amazing thing,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He’s responded really well, the MRI and everything. I’m not sure if he’ll be ready for Tuesday, but I don’t think it’ll be long term.”
Krzyzewski said after the injury occurred that it's a calf injury instead of a knee injury.
Keels was on Duke’s bench for the rout of Syracuse, but was not in uniform. An announcement came Friday afternoon that Keels’ status was doubtful for the game.
Roach said his former teammate at St. Paul VI and Team Takeover is in good spirits.
“He’s doing good. He’ll be back soon. He’s not tripping on these couple of games, he’ll be back soon,” Roach said.
This was only the second time one of Duke’s players from its main eight-man rotation has missed a game; Theo John missed one game with a back injury in December. Keels is third on the team with 11.9 points per game and leads the Blue Devils with 33 steals.