Duke Basketball Centerpiece Explains Impact of Maliq Brown's Absence

Due to a knee injury roughly midway through the first half of Saturday afternoon's 86-78 home win over Notre Dame, Duke basketball junior forward Maliq Brown played just under a minute for the No. 4-ranked Blue Devils (14-2, 6-0 ACC) before sitting out the remainder of the contest.

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"He's proven to be one of our toughest guys, easily," third-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer said about the 21-year-old Brown following the Blue Devils' 10th straight win. "And so, the fact that he couldn't go back in the game I don't think is a good sign."

Brown's setback occurred when his right knee banged into Blue Devil forward Mason Gillis.

While Scheyer didn't know the extent of the injury, there's no doubt he was worried that the savvy defender might end up missing more than just the bulk of the game against Notre Dame.

"We're gonna get imaging and get him looked at ASAP," Scheyer noted about the 6-foot-9, 222-pound Brown, a first-year transfer addition from Syracuse averaging 3.3 steals per 40 minutes while adding 2.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game off the bench. "I'm concerned...Maliq just provides such a different versatility with his defense."

Duke star Cooper Flagg echoed those sentiments while speaking to Duke Blue Devils On SI in the locker room after powering the Blue Devils to victory over the Irish via his epic 42-point performance.

I asked Cooper Flagg whether the questionable calls influenced his play and about the impact of being without Maliq Brown.

On the court. Off the court. 4.0 GPA. Mature, humble answers to every question anyone ever asks. The way this teen just wins at life doesn't even seem real. pic.twitter.com/SxLkLllzAu
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"We miss Maliq incredibly whenever he's not on the court, even if he's just getting water on the bench," Flagg explained. "I mean, we miss him at all times. And just the presence that he brings defensively, I've never seen somebody with such a knack for getting his hands on the ball and just tipping it and poking it away from guys.

"I've never seen anybody with the ability that he has. So, we always miss that and his energy he brings to that side of the floor, for sure."

There's no word on Maliq Brown's status for the Duke basketball home bout against Miami (4-12, 0-5 ACC) at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday (ESPN).

Stay tuned to Duke Blue Devils On SI for more Duke basketball news.