Duke's Caleb Foster has 'outside chance' to return for Sweet 16 vs. St. John's, Jon Scheyer says
The Blue Devils are crossing their fingers that their junior guard will play this week
Duke starting point guard Caleb Foster could return for Friday night's Sweet 16 showdown with St. John's in the NCAA Tournament, Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer said Monday. Injured during a win over North Carolina on March 7, Foster was initially ruled out for the "foreseeable future" with a right foot fracture, but has worked hard to get back in the lineup.
Foster, a junior, was averaging 8.5 points per game as Duke's most reliable 3-point shooter with a 40.2% clip this season.
"Not to reference Dumb and Dumber, but when he first got hurt, I felt like maybe it was one in a million," Scheyer told CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein. "Since then, the way Caleb has worked, the chances have continued to increase. I think there's an outside chance, maybe for Friday.
"He's trying to do the impossible here and try to come back as soon as he can. This weekend, I don't think I can rule it out because of who he is and how he's been working."
The ACC's regular season and league tournament champions, Duke (34-2) earned a No. 1 seed in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2010-11 and has taken out Siena and TCU without Foster.
Freshman guard Cayden Boozer has started for Foster in Duke's last five games. He's gotten progressively more comfortable as his minutes have increased. Boozer played 40 minutes and scored 16 points in Duke's ACC Tournament championship win over Virginia. In Duke's two NCAA Tournament games, Boozer has averaged 37.5 minutes, 14.0 points and 5.0 assists per game.
The Blue Devils suffered 17 turnovers last time out in the Round of 32, their second-highest total of the season. Getting Foster back could potentially curtail mistakes and assist Duke with a more rhythmic flow offensively.
"Credit them, they have a very good defense," Scheyer said after Duke's mistake-filled win over TCU. "They pressure you. They have active hands. I thought in the second half we just had more poise of understanding how we're trying to fight for the rim and making more really simple plays."
St. John's led the Big East in forced turnovers this season and Rick Pitino's teams have always been potent in the backcourt with pressure. The winner of Friday night's game earns a trip to the Elite Eight on Sunday.
