Duke’s Amile Jefferson Getting Closer to Return

Duke forward Amile Jefferson is out of his walking boot and appears to be getting closer to a return to action.

The 6-foot-9 senior was pictured without the boot on the bench during Duke’s 88-78 win over N.C. State on Saturday.

I asked Amile if he was getting close to returning. “I hope,” he said. #duke
– Stephen Wiseman (@stevewisemanNC) January 23, 2016

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K said Amile Jefferson’s broken bone is healed. Now starting to walk again. Doing work in pool. No way to say when he’ll retun yet. Progress
– Stephen Wiseman (@stevewisemanNC) January 23, 2016

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Jefferson – the leading returning scorer from last year’s national championship team – had started the first nine games this year while averaging 11 points and 10 rebounds before the injury in mid-December.

Written by Adam Zagoria

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.