Tre Jones Was Forced To Exit Duke’s Game Against Syracuse With An Apparent Shoulder Injury

Point guard Tre Jones is a key component for the top-ranked Duke Blue Devils and, while only a freshman, he operates as a steady hand that helps the best team in the country in a variety of different ways. However, Jones was forced to the sideline early on Monday evening, as the 6’2 lead guard suffered what appears to be a right shoulder injury during the first half against Syracuse.

Jones dove for a loose ball early in the first half and hit shoulder-to-shoulder with a Syracuse player doing the same, with Jones ending up on the worst end of the collision.

At this (very) early stage, it is unclear as to the extent of the ailment, though Jones appeared to be in significant pain before leaving the floor. Duke entered Monday’s game as a commanding favorite over a Syracuse team that wasn’t expected to provide a massive threat on the scoreboard but, in a big-picture sense, an absence for Jones would be significant for Coach K’s bunch.

Jones won’t receive the headlines on a team that deploys projected No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson and an additional pair of projected lottery picks in R.J. Barrett and Cameron Reddish. Still, he is a first-round caliber prospect in his own regard and Jones is putting together an impressive profile during his first (and potentially only) season at the college level.

Updates will almost certainly arrive after, or even during the game, but fans of Duke will be holding their breath and hoping for a positive prognosis when it comes to their starting point guard.

UPDATE: The ESPN broadcast provided the vague update that Jones has officially suffered a “right shoulder injury” and is “questionable to return” to the game. Hopefully the questionable to return part indicates it’s not all that serious, but we’ll still have to wait for a more concrete update.

UPDATE #2: Duke announced Jones has suffered an AC joint separation and is out indefinitely.