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Caleb Foster injury update: Jon Scheyer shares latest on Duke guard's status for Sweet 16 vs. St John's

Screenshot 2023-07-18 at 4.54.37 PMby: Riley Gates03/26/26Riley_Gates

The Duke Blue Devils are gearing up for another hopeful run to the Final Four, as they are set to face St. John’s on Friday in a Sweet 16 matchup. A key piece to that possible run is the status of point guard Caleb Foster, who suffered a broken foot in early March and was once thought to be done until the Final Four, at best.

The tune has recently changed, though. On Monday, head coach Jon Scheyer told CBS’ Jon Rothstein that Foster had an “outside chance” to play vs. St. John’s. On Thursday, Scheyer further addressed Foster’s status for the game. Foster is going to try and play in the game, per Scheyer.

If Duke can get Foster back for the Sweet 16, it would no doubt go a long way towards the program reaching the Elite Eight for the fourth time in the last five seasons. While Foster’s stats don’t blow anyone away on paper — 8.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game — he plays a crucial role in handling the ball for the Blue Devils and running the offense.

Why is that crucial? St. John’s led the Big East in turnover margin this season and is one of the best teams in the country at forcing turnovers. The Blue Devils getting their point guard back could help eliminate that issue.

Boozer stepping up in Foster absence

While Duke has been without Foster since the regular season finale, it has seen freshman Cayden Boozer step up in a big way. Since the start of the ACC Tournament and to this point in the NCAA Tournament, Boozer has scored double figures in three of five games.

Boozer has also contributed an average of 3.2 assists per game in that span and has turned it over just 1.8 times per game in those five. He’s standing out to his head coach in place of Foster.

“The thing I love about Cayden is he understands what it takes to win,” Scheyer said after beating TCU in the round of 32. “It’s been his scoring the last couple games for us, and tonight we just needed him to run the show. He was very patient, very efficient. Last two games he has 10 assists, 2 turnovers. 5-to-1 ratio is pretty good. And then he’s guarding. He’s just impacting the game in a whole bunch of different ways.”