Former Duke Standout to Miss Time With Injury

The Duke Blue Devils faced their toughest challenge of the season earlier in the week, facing off against No. 5 Michigan State. The Spartans were able to take down Duke, playing physically and using their defense to slow down the Blue Devils. 

The result? The first loss of the season for Jon Scheyer's team. 

While Duke returns home to face SIU Edwardsville on Friday night, they still have a tough non-conference schedule approaching. Over the next five games, Duke will face off against Illinois, UConn, and Florida — all teams that were ranked in the top five going into the week.

But when Duke and UConn meet up in a few weeks, the Blue Devils won't be facing off against their former wing Nik Khamenia. 

The guard suffered a foot injury that required surgery and is expected to miss six to eight weeks. He won't be available to face his former team. 

After committing to Duke as a five-star recruit, Khamenia spent just one year in Durham before entering the transfer portal. He averaged 5.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1 assist per game for the Blue Devils, appearing in 38 games. He did start in five games for Duke but mainly, his role was to come off the bench. 

He had his best game in the ACC Tournament, a win over Clemson in the semifinals as he scored 14 points, six rebounds, and dished out one assist. Khamenia was also 3-of-6 from the three-point lne in that game. 

Unhappy about his situation and the fact that Duke was welcoming in a top recruiting class, he made the decision to transfer. And it didn't take long for him to commit to Dan Hurley and the Huskies — the same team that ended Duke's season with a 19-point comeback in the Elite Eight. 

With the guard now on UConn, it would have set up a fun battle to go up against his former team and some of his former teammates. Instead, he will have to watch from the sideline to see his team battle Duke. 

This season, the guard is averaging 10.7 points, three rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 18.7 minutes per game for the Huskies. 

Even with the loss of Khamenia, this will be a tough game for Duke as UConn is a very good team. It will also give college basketball fans the chance to see an early-season showdown in Las Vegas for the non-conference schedule.