Latest on Injury Recoveries of Two Duke Basketball Teammates

There's still no telling if either Brown or Sarr will suit up or play when the Blue Devils wrap up their preseason slate with a road battle against the No. 18 Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville's Food City Center at 7 p.m. ET Sunday (ESPN2).

But perhaps it's a positive sign that Duke basketball social media included both of the long-limbed athletes in the following post, which consists of only four photos and features only three players outside of Maliq Brown (top right) and Dame Sarr (bottom left):

Update From Duke Basketball Head Coach Jon Scheyer

Following the victory over UCF, fourth-year Blue Devil leader Jon Scheyer talked about the importance of getting Maliq Brown and Dame Sarr in the team's rotation.

"Well, [Maliq and Dame] are two of our best defenders, if not the best," Scheyer explained. "They have versatility. Both of those guys really can guard — Maliq, one through five, as well as anybody in the country, and Dame, one through four, pretty effortlessly. Their versatility on the defensive end is where we miss them the most. And then on offense, they are both great connectors. They know how to play, both of them."

Scheyer implied that neither will be out much longer.

"[Their injuries are] not serious," he noted. "Dame strained his oblique. Hopefully, he can start to practice this week; I don't know about Sunday yet. Maliq, frankly, probably could have played; I'm just being cautious with him. The goal, ultimately, is to be ready for the season in the best way possible. We will reevaluate him this weekend to see if he can do anything."

Duke and Tennessee are tied in their all-time series with eight victories apiece. Sunday night's outcome won't change that, no matter who comes out on top, as the Blue Devils' reguar season schedule doesn't begin until they square off against the Texas Longhorns in Charlotte's Spectrum Center on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 8:45 p.m. ET (ESPN).

The Blue Devils and Vols last battled in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 in Orlando back in 2023, a 65-52 Tennessee win that ended Scheyer's first season at the helm of the Duke basketball program.