Mason Plumlee breaks his wrist

The Duke Blue Devils suffered a set back yesterday as Mason Plumlee fractured his left wrist after talking a hard fall in practice. The injury won't require surgery, and the younger Plumlee should be back in four-to-six weeks, meaning he'll be back in time for ACC play.

But Mason is a freshman.

And freshman always take a while to acclimate to the college game. See his brother Miles last year.

Mason Plumlee fractured his left wrist on Wednesday.
(photo credit: GoDuke)

As with all college sports, the big time basketball schools schedule weaker opponents early in the season. Why? So that the coaches can figure out what they have in their team - what offenses and defenses do they run well, who plays well together, ironing out their rotation.

The early season also doubles as an opportunity for players to learn the system their running, get back into game shape, and figure out their role for the team. It is even more important for freshman, who have the added difficulty of playing at a higher level of basketball.

Mason Plumlee will miss all of that.

Lets say he is out for exactly a month. That means he will be cleared to play on Dec. 12th (which is probably optimistic given the 4-6 week time frame for the injury). Mason would be in uniform for one game (against Gardner-Webb) before the the Blue Devils will face Gonzaga in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden, and then either UConn or Arizona State depending on the way the semifinals turn out. (The opponents mentioned above assumes that chalk holds in the first two rounds.)

The second game of Plumlee's college career will be played in front of a packed house and a national television audience on ESPN.

Talk about being thrown into the fire.