Duke HC Has Been Telling Injured Player to 'Shut Up' During Team Huddles

Duke was without starting point guard Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II during the ACC Tournament.

That doesn't mean their presence wasn't felt on the floor. 

No. 1 Duke won the ACC Tournament final 74-70 over No. 10 Virginia on Saturday night.  With the win, the Blue Devils are all but a lock to earn the No. 1 overall seed.

Foster, who suffered a broken right foot, is not expected to return for Duke unless the team makes the Final Four. It's unclear whether Ngongba will play again, as he's day-to-day with a foot injury.

Still, Foster has been a vocal leader for the Blue Devils during their three-game crusade in the ACC Tournament.

During his postgame news conference, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said he had to tell Foster to "shut up" during team huddles so the coaching staff can get a few words in.

Yeah, he's incredible. Caleb, I've never seen a guy shoot so much in a scooter," Scheyer said, via USA Today. "He gets in the gym and he gets his shots up every day already. He literally has not taken a day off. His voice, he's right there with me in the huddles.

"I think part of this is just how I've evolved, but literally it's the most our players have ever talked in huddles, and Caleb included. Multiple times a game, I have to ask him to shut up for one second just to get in a few coaching points."

Foster will be a big miss for Duke during the early part of the NCAA Tournament. He's averaging 8.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. 

With Forster out, Cayden Boozer has been playing more minutes. Scheyer thinks Boozer has taken advantage of the opportunity.

"But look, obviously it's even a bigger opportunity with Caleb going out," Scheyer said. "You can ask the staff; we had complete confidence that Cayden was ready to do this and to take this to the next level.

"But to answer it in this moment and against the teams we've played, ACC Tournament, I just think that's something inherently that he has where he was born with that. He was born with that confidence and that competitiveness."

With a seven-man rotation for Duke, Boozer played all 40 minutes against Virginia, scoring 16 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists. 

Boozer could earn a bigger role this week.