Irving improving, but not expected back

There were encouraging signs for Duke freshman point guard Kyrie Irving after he had the cast removed from his foot Friday.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski said there has been some healing of the right big toe injury that has sidelined Irving since Dec. 5. Irving will undergo therapy and in a few weeks will have an MRI and a CT scan.

But Krzyzewski said he still doesn’t expect Irving back this season.

“We still feel he’s not going to play, and we have to go forward with that,” Krzyzewski said. “He’s a long way from playing.”

Krzyzewski has made the point that because Irving was in a cast for such a long time, his entire foot is going to be weakened for a while.

"Just because you're out of a cast, you have to be 100 percent before you come back, and he's a ways from that," Krzyzewski said Saturday night. "It's progressing well for his career. It's being done the right way and he's got to be honest with us about how he's doing."

Ken Tysiac