At a Thursday afternoon press conference, head coach Jon Scheyer confirmed to reporters that sophomore guard Jaden Schutt would redshirt this season after suffering an injury earlier in the fall. Schutt did not play in the Blue Devils' season opener against Dartmouth — the only guard to not see the floor.
"He had an injury in the fall and got behind a little bit, and felt it was best for him to focus fully on his development, focus fully on getting better every single day," Scheyer said. "And he's gonna be a really good player here. He just, I think that he set him back a little bit.
The 6-foot-5 guard saw limited minutes in his first season in Durham but showed promise as a specialty shooter from the periphery, sinking seven 3-pointers for an average of 2.1 points per game in 14 contests. The then-freshman saw the floor mostly in the final minutes of games the Blue Devils won comfortably, logging a career-high nine points and five rebounds in Duke's rout of Maryland Eastern Shore last fall.
"He's gonna be a really good player here," Scheyer said. "He just, I think that injury set him back a little bit. And so again, things can change. That's the thing when you say, 'you're definitely doing this.' Me and him both know things can happen and you need to be ready, but for the moment, that's the plan with him."
The Yorkville, Ill., native was the No. 78 player and No. 8 shooting guard in the class of 2022, and was one of seven players that comprised Duke's top-ranked recruiting class a year ago.
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Andrew Long is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 119th volume.