Louisville star guard Mikel Brown Jr., who has missed the last four games with a lower-back injury, will not play in Tuesday’s game against Duke, coach Pat Kelsey said on the ACC coaches’ media call on Monday.
“He’s rehabbing hard; he’s trying to,” Kelsey said after Louisville’s loss at Stanford on Friday. “We ramped him up a little bit in practice, and then we had a little bit of a setback. We’re hoping it gets better soon and he gets back out there.”
Brown is averaging 16.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 10 games this season.
No. 16 Louisville (11-3) is 2-2 without Brown. Former Kennesaw State transfer Adrian Wooley has replaced Brown in the starting lineup, averaging 12.3 points in four games as a starter.
The Cardinals host No. 6 Duke, Boston College and No. 21 Virginia in their next three games.
Brown, a five-star recruit and the No. 5 player in ESPN’s NBA draft rankings, was one of the best freshmen in the country during the first month of the season. He had 29 points and five assists in a November win over Kentucky, then followed it up a week later with 22 points and six assists against Cincinnati. Brown also posted 22 points in a loss to Arkansas.
