DURHAM, N.C. – Duke sophomore Olek Czyz had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last week to remove loose cartilage. The surgery was successfully performed by Dr. Dean Taylor and Czyz is expected to be out of action for the next four weeks.
"Olek had a minor knee surgery last week and is expected to make a full recovery," said head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "We are looking forward to Olek getting back out on the court to continue his development in our program."
Czyz, a Reno, Nevada, product, played in 13 games as a true freshman. He scored eight points and grabbed 12 rebounds in 51 minutes. Czyz helped the Blue Devils to a 30-7 record, the ACC Championship and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2008-09.
BDN's Andrew Slater just reported that Kyrie Irving sat out eleven minutes with a knee injury, only to come back in and score 26 of his 28 points in the second half willing his team to victory. BDN Premium will have an interview up with Kyrie soon and Andrew will continue to chime in on the members only message board with the latest from the Rumble in the Bronx AAU event.
BDN caught up with P.J. Hairston (Class of 2011) during a recent AAU event and we have some audio from that conversation for our members. Hairston visited Duke unofficially a short while back. Hairston is a 6'-5" shooting guard from Greensboro, North Carolina, where he plays his ball for Dudley. He is a member of the CP3 All Star team in [private] AAU play.
BDN Premium will follow Kyrie Irving at this weekends Rumble in the Bronx - Photo- BDNP
I finally located the second audio interview with Kyrie Irving after he tossed in forty points in Cameron Indoor Stadium. If you have followed this site, you are aware that we broke Duke's interest in this talented young star long before others picked up on it. BDN has covered Irving at many events and that will continue this weekend, when Andrew Slater attends the "Rumble in the Bronx, event. The great thing about Andrew is his knowledge of national prospects, but when it comes to the East coast, he is more than just a little plugged in. So, why not join Blue Devil Nation Premium and get full access to the fastest growing subscription site around. We think you will quickly learn that this site stays ahead of the curve with the information you covet and that we take a hands on active role in our coverage of all things Duke. We are dedicated to bringing you a great Duke fan experience in a professional manner and when we talk of prospects, we have seen them play firsthand. We never deal in rumors at Blue Devil Nation, but we sure as heck are forced to squelch a few along the way on our members only message board. Our site sees no use in having a public message board, for they turn into quite the mess in a short time. We do value our visitors though and we'll continue to offer free content and peeks at what we cover in our premium section. When I first started Blue Devil Nation, there was a need for a site which was accurate, dependable and personable. I can promise you that we'll strive to add features we think you'll love in the near future. We have a Twitter page to keep you in touch with our offerings and tidbits on whats going on Duke Athletics. We are adding feature writers, all of which you have heard of as well. In short, I am excited about our coverage and the BDN team hopes you are as well. Thanks to all of you for making up the Blue Devil Nation. Now, on to the interview with Kyrie [private] Irving -
We will return to one on ones interviews, so stay tuned for a more streamlined experience. Talk about thi interview on the message board. [/private]
Hurley and his assistants led his team to the title during the recent Coach K Academy
It's always good to see former Duke All American Bobby Hurley for he brings back nothing but great memories from his playing days at Duke University. Hurley remains the NCAA's All Time Assist leader to this day and he of course quarterbacked Duke to back to back national championships in 1991 and 1992 and participated three final fours and three national championship games.
His roots at basketball crazy St. Anthony's in New Jersey are worn on his sleeve where he is quick to talk about his Dad Bob and his brother, Danny. Hurley was a first team All American as a senior in 1993 and was named to numerous AA teams during his successful career. He still holds the Blue Devils single game assist record and his jersey number 11 hangs in the rafters of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
It's worth noting that Hurley was named the Final Four MVP in 92 and that he was the 7th pick in the NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. Hurley's pro career was cut short after a car hit his automobile after a Kings practice. Hurley's knee injury kept him from doing the things he is accustomed to on the court and his fabulous career on the court came to an end shortly thereafter.
Hurley know lives in Florida where he enjoys raising his sons and partaking in horse racing. The following audio interview was conducted by Brian Strickland of the Herald Sun and myself with a few other questions from others towards the end. We hope you enjoy hearing from this ACC legend as much as we did during our chat. For more interviews with former players and Duke basketball prospects, join our subscription service Blue Devil Nation Premium.
BDN takes a look at the how the recruiting class of 2010 is shaping up. First of all we know that Josh Hairston, Andre Dawkins and Tyler Thornton are in the fold, but who are they really after to fill that class out? Duke is happy to have all three of these kids but they are still seeking an [private] athletic wing, a point guard and a physical presence down low.
What this mean is that Duke is looking to bring in six players next year and seven counting red shirt Curry. Duke is confident that current bigs in the program will all blossom. Mason and Miles Plumlee alongside Ryan Kelly and Olek Czyz give the Devils a lot to work with. Three of the four are very versatile players while one is an athletic project.
Harrison Barnes remains Duke's biggest target but he is followed closely by Kyrie Irving. Okay, you're asking where is Brandon Knight, right? Knight is very much on his radar, so he is still listing Duke but Brandon is hard to read and takes a low key approach to recruiting. He is well aware that there is a spot here if he wants to come, but Duke cannot sit by waiting on his decision. That's why they have turned it up with Kyrie Irving. Duke loves his athleticism and his demeanor. Duke very much feels that they have a good shot at landing Irving.
Duke will on the recruting trail in July and Irving and Barnes will get a lot of attention at that time. Duke is in desperate need of a point guard and Thornton is well aware that he'll likely be a backup at Duke and/or a program kid and is accepting of that role. The Blue Devils like Ray McCallum as well and they have been told that he is no hurry in his recruiting by those close to the situation. The bottom line is that Duke will look his way if and when there comes a time when they feel less confident with Irving.
Despite reports that Irving is leaning towards Indiana, recent statements to BDN indicated that he was in the early stages of the process. Irving will visit Duke in the near future. Duke feels as if his athleticism is just too enticing and again, they feel good about the situation. Should that change on his visit and different vibes are felt, then they'll turn their attention to Ray McCallum and offer him.
Harrison Barnes' recruitment will go on for a while yet, but Duke feels good about their positioning and their relationship with the key prospect. Again, he will visit Duke after he does UNC and this will be for the third time late this month. The feeling is that this one may go down very much like Kyle Singler's recruitment, meaning they felt confident but had to let it play out.
Ideally, Duke wants to bring in a wide body athletic type and don't sleep on a kid like DeMarco Cox for he is very much what they are looking for physically. While he needs work on his grades, there is time to turn that situation around. Duke is interested in Tarik Black, but they'll need to get some more views of him in order to get a good feel for his game. We'll keep you posted on any developments with concerns to unofficial visits and such.[/private]
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