Duke's AJ Griffin Diagnosed with Sprained Knee After Suffering Injury at Practice

The Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team had an injury scare.

The program announced Saturday that freshman AJ Griffin, a top-20 recruit, suffered a sprained right knee in practice Friday. But the Blue Devils can breathe a sigh of relief, as there was "no significant structural damage."

The program did not announce a recovery timeline for Griffin. The Athletic's Brendan Marks reported Griffin is expected to miss four to six weeks. Duke's season opener is four-and-a-half weeks away, Nov. 9 against Kentucky at Madison Square Garden.

Griffin is the son of former NBA player Adrian Griffin and was a 5-star recruit out of Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York. A 6'6" forward and potent scorer, Griffin was projected as a starter.

But an injury history is piling up, as this could be his third straight season in which he misses time. He sat out 2020-21 with an ankle injury, but he still earned spots on the McDonald's All-American and Jordan Brand Classic rosters. He averaged 17.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 12 games as a junior, but his season was cut short by a knee injury.

Griffin was one of three 5-star recruits in Duke's freshman class along with 6'10" forward Paolo Banchero and 6'4" guard Trevor Keels.

The Blue Devils face a daunting early-season schedule with games against projected Top 25 teams Gonzaga (Nov. 26) and Ohio State (Nov. 30) within the first month of the season.