Jon Scheyer: ‘Long-shot at best’ Caleb Foster returns for ACC Tournament

The Duke Blue Devils missed out on their chance to be co-champions of the ACC this season after losing for the second time this year to their heated rival, North Carolina. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, they were still without one of their key players, freshman guard Caleb Foster.

Duke was upended on their home court 84-79. The presence of Foster on the court could have potentially tilted the game in the Blue Devils’ favor. However, that was not the case, as Foster continues to miss action with a foot injury. According to head coach Jon Scheyer, after the game, Duke will likely have to prepare to run through the ACC championship tournament without him.

“I would say it’s a long shot; at best, he’s able to be ready to play next week. I think it’s very unlikely. He’s doing everything that he can and progressing. But he’s not close; he’s not,” said Scheyer.

“I would have loved to have him out there tonight and for next week. But our team has to continue to get better and hopefully sometime we can get him back, but it’s not gonna be for this week.”

Scheyer shares how much Jeremy Roach has meant to him ahead of Senior Night

Scheyer will finish off his second regular season as the Duke head coach on Saturday against North Carolina. It hasn’t been easy taking over for legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski, but senior guard Jeremy Roach has been a huge help.

Roach didn’t transfer when Krzyzewski retired, instead committing to stay in Durham and play for Scheyer.

Ahead of the final game for Jeremy Roach at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Scheyer shared what Roach has meant to him.

“It’s hard to explain how much he’s meant, you know,” Jon Scheyer said Saturday morning on ESPN College GameDay. “At some point, when this transition happened, you needed somebody to say ‘yes’ to you. And Jeremy was the main guy, coming off the Final 4 team, he was the one guy returning that played – him and Jaylen Blakes – to say ‘I’m coming back and let’s keep this thing rolling.’”

Jeremy Roach has been a big part of the Blue Devils program for all four seasons he has been there. He started 18 games as a freshman in 2020-21 and averaged 8.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 2021-22, playing both of those seasons under Coach K.

Roach then saw his role increase in 2022-23 under Scheyer, starting 30 games and averaging 13.6 points per contest. He shared Duke MVP honors with Kyle Filipowski last season.

Roach opted to return for his senior year and he is having another excellent season in 2023-24, averaging 14.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.