Duke freshman point guard Tre Jones is 'probable' to return to action from injury as it welcomes Georgia Tech into Durham on Saturday, Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski said on Friday.
"Tre is probable for this game," he said. "He has really progressed well and hopefully he will be ready to go on Saturday."
Jones has been out since Jan. 14 after he separated his AC joint against Syracuse in an eventual 95-91 overtime loss when he collided with Syracuse's Frank Howard. Initially concerns about his status was that it would be weeks, not days, before his return, but the injury was less severe than anticipated. In fact five days removed from the injury, Duke held out hope he could play against Virginia, though he was ruled out just before tip time. He also missed Tuesday's game against Pitt.
On a team full of superstar freshmen, Jones has been a quiet, steadying force for Duke. He's averaging 8.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, and ranks third-best among players in assist/turnover ratio. His impact defensively has gone underappreciated, too, as he's taking away 2.1 steals per game, a mark that ranks third in the ACC.
Jones's absence against the Orange was felt when he went down early in the first half on Jan. 14, but Duke has been rolling since, beating Virginia at home 72-70 at home, and Pitt on the road 79-64. Nonetheless, his return will be a welcomed addition for a Duke team tied with four other programs in first-place in the ACC standings.
"Tre stirs the drink," Krzyzewski told ESPN last week, adding that he's Duke's most important player. "He's the catalyst."
