Jahlil Okafor to miss Duke’s game vs Clemson
The Duke Blue Devils look to win their seventh straight game today against Clemson, but will have to do so without Wooden Award candidate Jahlil Okafor who is out with a sprained ankle.
Duke was able to knock off rival North Carolina on Wednesday night to win their sixth straight game, but the win came at a price as Player of the Year candidate and freshman phenom, Jahlil Okafor rolled his ankle in the game.
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Okafor missed time in the win against the Tar Heels late in the first half, but came back to play the entire second half and finish with a career-high 41 minutes. However, the ankle is still bothering him and will miss the game against the Clemson Tigers on Saturday.
BREAKING: Jahlil Okafor will not play in today's Duke-Clemson contest after suffering an ankle injury against North Carolina.
— Duke Basketball (@dukebasketball) February 21, 2015
According to assistant coach Nate James, via The Chronicle, the ankle was still swollen and giving him some discomfort so the Blue Devils are making the decision to sit their leading scorer and rebounder in the hopes that the extra rest will allow him to come back for the team’s next game on Feb. 25 at Virginia Tech.
“It’s still a little swollen, it still hurts. He wants to be there for his guys. So what happens [Saturday], we’ll know more when he has a little more time to heal and get some more treatment on it,” James said. “Hopefully he’ll be back and being himself, and we need that. What’s important is the other seven players be prepared to play and to fight for 40 minutes.”
With Okafor sidelined with the tender ankle, Amile Jefferson and Marshall Plumlee are expected to pick up his minutes in the front court.
Duke tips off against Clemson at 4:00 p.m. eastern time.
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