Duke to help Truck Bryant get ready to play

Truck Bryant broke a bone in his foot before the Sweet 16, an injury many believed would cost him the remainder of the tournament.

Not so fast.

You see, after West Virginia clinched the regional title, Truck told AOL Fanhouse that he would be ready to play in the Final Four. The plan is to use an orthotic to help take some of the pressure off the bone in his foot. According to Truck, he cannot make the injury any worse than it is, so the question is his ability to play through the pain.

Did Truck get the ice from Duke too?
(photo credit: Globe & Mail)

And if he can, his addition can only help the Mountaineers. Bryant would be just the second point guard on the roster, and against a team like Duke -- a team that defends well in the half court and makes it difficult to get high percentage shots -- he becomes just that much more valuable.

In fact, its not a stretch to say that Bryant could very well end up being the difference in this game.

Which makes it all the more ironic that the place he went to get this orthotic was Duke, and the man making it was a Duke doctor and, as you can imagine, a Duke fan.

How do you define irony?

To his credit, Coach K wasn't the least bit upset.

"We should take care of those kids," he said. "If they come up with an orthotic or whatever, and Duke is the one [that makes it], you should do that."

This may all end up being a moot point anyway. Bob Huggins said Bryant is "very doubtful" to play.