Duke's Wendell Moore to Have Surgery on Hand Injury, out Indefinitely

No. 2 Duke will have to play a stretch without one of its key players after the team announced Wendell Moore will be out indefinitely with a broken hand. 

"We think everything's going to be good, but he'll be out for awhile...and he will not travel to Georgia Tech," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said Monday.

The injury came in Saturday's win against Miami, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

Moore has averaged 7.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game in 14 appearances this season.

The injury could be a significant one for Duke, which has proved to be one of the top contenders in the country this season with a 13-1 record overall and 3-0 in the ACC.

However, Moore represents a key depth piece as someone who has both come off the bench and started games this season. He ranks fifth on the team in minutes per game and is a valuable contributor on both ends of the court.

Duke does at least have a deeper rotation than in past seasons, with 10 players getting regular playing time. Joey Baker and Alex O'Connell should see more minutes going forward on the perimeter as the Blue Devils try to stay in front of their competition in the ACC.

On the other hand, this injury could be damaging to Moore as he tries to reach his own high expectations.

The freshman entered the year as a 4-star recruit and No. 29 overall recruit in the country, per 247Sports, one of four 4- or 5-stars in the 2019 Duke class. According to ESPN, he is also the No. 40 overall player in the 2020 NBA draft class.

A broken hand will take away valuable playing time that can cost him in what might be his only collegiate season.