Duke Basketball HC Jon Scheyer on Drew Scharnowski's Recovery Status

Jon Scheyer and his fifth Duke basketball squad left no doubt in exhibition play that the preseason No. 2-ranked Blue Devils are as loaded as advertised. After recording a 102-62 home win over the Belmont Bruins and a 103-64 home win over the No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers, they completed a 3-0 October sweep with their 90-84 road victory over the Kansas Jayhawks in a raucous Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon.

Now, keep in mind that Duke was without the services of one of its returning starters, senior guard Caleb Foster, in its first two exhibition outings due to his minor ankle injury. Plus, the Blue Devils were without a fourth-year collegian in high-quality transfer forward Drew Scharnowski (right knee injury) across their entire slate of tune-ups.

"Drew is getting closer," Scheyer noted in his postgame press conference about the 6-foot-10, 240-pound 22-year-old, a former First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection and All-MVC Defensive Team performer who transferred to Duke in the spring following three years at Belmont. "He's on the court. And hopefully, we get him back for the first week here."

So, Scheyer sounds optimistic about the chance of Scharnowski — seen with a sleeve on his right leg throughout the preseason after undergoing a procedure in September to clean up as a past surgery on his knee — suiting up for the Blue Devils' regular season opener versus the visiting Army Black Knights in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Monday, Nov. 2, at 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU).

Jon Scheyer on Duke Basketball Veteran Caleb Foster's Outing

Foster, out of commission for the matchups against Belmont and Tennessee perhaps as a precaution with there being no sense in rushing him back for mere preseason action, played 16 minutes off the bench against the Jayhawks on Sunday. He finished with two points, one assist, two steals, and one turnover, shooting only 1-for-6 from the field and 0-for-3 beyond the arc.

final box | Kansas (EX) pic.twitter.com/AIC6i7VY90
— #DukeMBBStats (@DukeMBBStats) October 25, 2026

"Well, we knew it would be limited minutes," Scheyer said about Foster's playing time. "He's ahead of schedule. We didn't think he would even play in this game. And in typical Caleb fashion, he just put a lot of pressure on us. And finally, we gave in and said, 'All right, you can play — limited, though.' And he goes, 'Whatever I can get, I'll give you all I've got.'

"So, I think just for him, it came down to just he hasn't played, so to play a game — play a road game — it was great to see him out there. And just his body, his presence, made a difference for us."

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