Maliq Brown injury update: Duke forward reveals encouraging news about his health status

Led by National Player of the Year Cooper Flagg and top-ten NBA Draft picks Kon Kneuppel and Khaman Maluach, Duke won 35 games last season and advanced to the Final Four for the 18th time in program history.

Junior forward Maliq Brown, who transferred from Syracuse prior to the season, was a key member off the bench on that historic team. In 15.7 minutes per game last season, Brown averaged 2.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in 26 games. He however dislocated his shoulder on two separate occasions, placing him on the sidelines for 13 games.

Brown joined teammate Caleb Foster on “The Brotherhood Podcast” to discuss the injuries and give an update on where he is heading into the fall.

“For the first time it happened was when we played at [Virginia],” Brown said. “When the [injury] happened, it was just crazy. Especially how it happened. The recovery process for that for the first time was just something different. I mean, I had never been hurt for real. Especially being on my shoulder, and then in the ACC Tournament I didn’t expect it to happen again. I was just balancing that the whole season for real.”

Following his injury against Virginia on February 17, Brown did not see game action again until Duke‘s March 8 matchup against North Carolina. Just one game later against Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament however, he suffered the same injury again. This sidelined him for Duke‘s first two NCAA Tournament games before he returned for the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight and Final Four games.

In three NCAA Tournament games, the Culpepper, VA native averaged 1.3 points and 1.6 rebounds. He played just three and four minutes respectively in the first two games, but totaled 15 minutes in the Final Four loss to Houston.

“I’m feeling good,” Brown continued. “Both of us [referring to Foster] have been here the whole summer so just attacking every day. Rehabbing and getting on the court as much as I can. Just adding stuff every day and every week. But every day, I’m just trying to add something new, whether it’s in the rehab or on the court. And then just seeing how you’ve been attacking your workouts [again referring to Foster], it keeps me motivated to keep going too.”

Brown is just one of four returning players from last season’s team that averaged at least 10 minutes per game, joined by guard Isaiah Evans, guard Caleb Foster, center Patrick Ngongba II.