Duke Basketball: Mark Mitchell Addresses Status of Knee Injury

Duke basketball sophomore-to-be Mark Mitchell appears ready to be a leader.

Mark Mitchell's physicality would have come in handy for the Duke basketball team in its season-ending loss to a highly aggressive Tennessee squad on March 18 in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. But the freshman forward, a full-time starter, sustained a knee injury in practice the previous day and did not play in that game.

After the game, head coach Jon Scheyer did not provide specifics about the injury — not even mentioning which knee he injured — but noted that it was a last-second decision for Mitchell to sit out.

So is the 6-foot-8, 220-pound former five-star recruit back to 100 percent as he prepares for a sophomore campaign in Durham? Judging by his Instagram Live on Sunday night, the knee is no longer an issue.

"Is the knee fully recovered?" Mark Mitchell asked aloud after seeing the question in the comments. "Yes. Yes."

Mark Mitchell says his knee is fully recovered pic.twitter.com/gZDt8RbBwA

— Duke Update (@UpdateDuke) May 8, 2023

That's good news, especially considering that two other returning Blue Devils might be limited in all-important team-building workouts this summer while recovering from recent surgeries.

Kyle Filipowski, Duke basketball's reigning ACC Rookie of the Year, underwent an arthroscopic procedure on both hips in early April. And Christian Reeves, who was a seldom-used big man as a freshman but has a chance to carve out a role next go-round, had left ankle surgery around the same time.

Although Mark Mitchell was not a projected first-round pick, he might have heard his name at this summer's NBA Draft had he not decided to return to Duke instead. Now, he's one of at least three returning starters for Scheyer's second year on the throne, alongside Filipowski and fellow sophomore-to-be Tyrese Proctor.

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As a freshman, Mitchell averaged 9.1 points and 4.5 rebounds across his 27.1 minutes per game, and until missing the last outing, he and Filipowski were the only two Duke basketball players who started every game.

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