Maliq Brown injury update: Duke HC John Scheyer shares latest news on Blue Devils guard ahead of UNC showdown

Maliq Brown has endured a rough start to his time with the Duke Blue Devils. He has dealt with an array of injuries and has missed nine games this season. He hasn't played since suffering a bone bruise while putting up two points in the 80-62 win over the Virginia Cavaliers on Feb. 17.

Ahead of No. 2-ranked Duke's (27-3, 18-1 ACC) game against the North Carolina Tar Heels (20-11, 13-6) on Saturday, Blue Devils John Scheyer spoke about Brown's injury status.

"Well, Maliq has been working so hard," Scheyer said during Friday's press conference. "You know, Maliq's been telling me for two weeks I'm ready when he hasn't been. But that's his mindset to be ready. He has not practiced practice yet. He's going to try today to do some but we're not going to risk anything unless he's completely ready to go.

"So we'll have to see today and tomorrow if there's a chance, but he literally hasn't practiced one time with us yet."

It looks like Brown still has work to do before being cleared to return to the court. Bone bruises are difficult to predict and the Blue Devils are likely cautiously handling the injury.

The game against UNC might be too close for comfort, but there's a chance that Brown will feature at some point during March Madness.

How has Maliq Brown performed this season?

Maliq Brown started his college basketball career at Syracuse. He operated as a spark plug forward off the bench for the Orange, putting up decent numbers in his sophomore season.

However, Brown decided to enter the transfer portal after last season. He decided to take his talents to Duke and play under Blue Devils coach John Scheyer.

Unfortunately, Brown's time at Duke hasn't gone according to plan from an individual perspective. He's putting up career lows in points, rebounds and minutes per game. Additionally, he hasn't recorded over eight points in a game this campaign.

The Blue Devils are playing some of the best basketball in the country and are the No. 2-ranked team in the AP Top 25 Poll. However, Brown's performances leave a lot to be desired.

What’s next for Maliq Brown?

Maliq Brown will hope that he'll get some extra minutes once he's back from injury. He'll need touches to showcase the skill set that made him a priority transfer ahead of this season.

Meanwhile, the Blue Devils will aim to win over the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday to secure the ACC regular-season championship. If they do, it'll be their first regular-season championship since 2022 during the days of Mike Krzyzewski.