| | DURHAM, N.C. -- Mike Dunleavy Jr. has been sent home to
recover from mononucleosis, meaning Duke's top reserve probably
will miss next week's Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
The 6-foot-7 freshman is to rest in Oregon, and coach Mike
Krzyzewski said Tuesday he hopes Dunleavy will be back in time for
the NCAA tournament.
It can take weeks and sometimes months to recover from
mononucleosis, a blood condition that leaves a person fatigued.
"He is still a ways from being with us," Krzyzewski said. "He
is still tired. You just can't get a handle on it. I doubt very
seriously that he'll be back for the ACC tournament."
The No. 4 Blue Devils (22-4) are 1-1 since the Dunleavy was
diagnosed with the illness. He was averaging 9.5 points and 4.2
rebounds in 25 minutes.
Even if Dunleavy can return by mid-March, his effectiveness
could be limited after missing more than three weeks of practice
and games.
"I think the reality now is we don't have Dunleavy and that
changes the roles of everybody and it changes our team,"
Krzyzewski said. "But we have to adjust to that because we're not
certain he is coming back. Mononucleosis is very difficult to pin
down and how quickly a kid can recover."
The absence of Dunleavy added minutes to an already overworked
trio of Chris Carrawell, Shane Battier and Jason Williams.
Carrawell and Williams played 40 minutes each in an 83-82 loss to
St. John's on Saturday, while Battier logged 38.
"We're trying to work everybody in, but you know what, there's
nobody like Dunleavy," said Krzyzewski, whose team closes the ACC
regular season schedule this week against Clemson and North
Carolina.
Freshman Nick Horvath scored 13 points off the bench against
Wake Forest last week in Duke's first game without Dunleavy.
However, Krzyzewski used the 6-10 forward for only nine minutes
against the Red Storm.
"We have to make sure not to let this Dunleavy situation make
us feel like we've already accomplished what we can accomplish,"
Krzyzewski said. "I want our team to understand the season is not
over." | |
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