Back in September, months after transferring into the Duke basketball program following three years at Belmont, veteran forward Drew Scharnowski underwent a procedure to clean up a past surgery on his right knee. Throughout preseason action, the 6-foot-10, 240-pound 22-year-old from Burlington, Ill., was seen wearing a leg sleeve, and he did not play in any of the No. 2-ranked Blue Devils' three exhibition outings.
Scharnowski finally saw his first bit of playing time in a Duke basketball jersey on Monday night, as he tallied four points, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal across eight minutes off the bench in the 84-50 season opener home victory over the Army Black Knights.
However, he did not play at all in Thursday night's 113-52 home win over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, leading to many fans wondering about his status. As first reported during the ACC Network's broadcast of the blowout, Scharnowski was held out for load management in his injury recovery.
In Jon Scheyer's postgame press conference, the fifth-year Duke basketball head coach further clarified that report.
"Drew, it's all part of his return to play," Scheyer said about the plan to gradually bring Scharnowski back to full-on availability. "We didn't anticipate him playing in this game anyway. And so for us, we're just, again, continuing to ramp him up and get him back to where he's himself."
Scheyer did not mention whether Scharnowski will be available for minutes in the Blue Devils' next matchup, a Champions Classic clash against the No. 6 Michigan State Spartans in Chicago's United Center at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday (ESPN).
"I feel really good about it," Scharnowski explained to Duke Blue Devils On SI in the locker room following the win over Army when asked if he's 100 percent confident in his knee's strength at this stage in his recovery. "You know, there could always be bumps in the road. But we have an awesome staff here that takes really great care of us. So, you know, [I'll] just keep playing it by ear, keep trucking along, listen to what they say."
Scharnowski arrived in Durham ranking No. 31 overall and No. 8 among power forwards in the transfer portal, per 247Sports. Last season, he landed on the All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team, MVC All-Defensive Team, and MVC Most Improved Team, averaging 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.3 blocks per contest for a Belmont squad that finished 26-6 overall.
Granted, Duke basketball already has a deep, balanced rotation. That was further evident on Thursday night in the fact a different player led the Blue Devils in points (Patrick Ngongba II with 28), rebounds (Sebastian Wilkins with 11), assists (Cayden Boozer with 12), steals (Dame Sarr with four), blocks (Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje with three), and 3-point makes (Caleb Foster with three) in the win over Coastal Carolina.
But there's no doubt Scharnowski hopes to eventually add his versatile abilities to the equation on a full-time basis.
"I know I can bring a lot to the court," Scharnowski noted to Duke Blue Devils On SI on Monday night, "and hopefully, keep building on that."
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/duke as Latest on Duke Basketball Transfer Forward Drew Scharnowski's Status .
