‘Blessed’: Jaylen Blakes discusses his scary fall on flagrant foul in Duke’s NCAA win
The scene caused an arena full of people — and millions watching on television — to hold their breaths before letting out a collective, “ohhhhh!”
In one moment, Duke’s Jaylen Blakes dribbled toward the basket ahead of James Madison’s defenders.
A second later, as he leaped and cocked the ball back in his right hand to attempt an emphatic dunk, Blakes felt Noah Freidel’s arm slam him, causing him to fall head first toward the court below.
Blakes ducked his head, landed on his upper back and laid on the court stunned and in pain as the game officials signaled for a flagrant foul.
It was a low moment for Duke last Sunday in what was an otherwise easy 93-55 wipeout of James Madison in an NCAA Tournament second-round game at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
“That was really scary in the moment,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said Thursday.
“In the moment” is the important part of that sentence, because Thursday at American Airlines Center, Blakes was on the court practicing with the Blue Devils as they prepared for Friday night’s NCAA Tournament South Regional semifinal game against Houston.
“Obviously I took a very hard fall,” Blakes said Thursday. “A lot of people saw. But, you know, grateful to be here.”
After the way Blakes landed, with his eyes briefly rolling to the back of his head, he finally was helped to his feet and looked groggy. Real concern existed over his health. But Duke’s training staff checked him out, looking for any signs of concussion or other serious injuries.
After leaving the playing area, Blakes returned to Duke’s bench and was seen smiling while talking with teammates as the Blue Devils finished off their lopsided win.
The 6-2 junior guard, a reserve for the Blue Devils, is fully prepared to play against Houston, if needed.
“The medical staff did a great job in making sure that I was okay,” Blakes said, “and taking the proper steps to coordinate and make sure I was healthy for this game. I’ve been going through practice, working out on my own, making sure I was healthy enough to be ready.”
A New Jersey native, Blakes had plenty of family and friends in attendance in Brooklyn who witnessed the play. His parents were allowed in the locker room to check on him shortly thereafter.
“I’ve taken a lot of falls,” Blakes said, “but I think once my family saw I was able to walk on my own they thought I was gonna be good. Just to be able to see them after the game, just to have their love and prayers was pretty special.”
Blakes said he holds no ill will toward Friedel for his foul.
“He made a play on the ball,” Blakes said. “I don’t think anything about it was dirty. He apologized after.”
Blakes traveled home with the Blue Devils from New York and, two days later, was on the team flight to Dallas for the NCAA Tournament’s next round.
“You always wonder the next day how they feel with a fall like that,” Scheyer said. “Jaylen has been great. He’s felt really good.”
That’s a surprise considering how anyone who saw that play felt and how Blakes looked just four days earlier.
In another injury situation for Duke, senior guard Jeremy Roach also went through Thursday’s practice after dislocating the pinky finger on his left hand during the James Madison game. Roach still has the pinky and ring fingers on that hand taped together, just as he did after returning the game following the injury last Sunday.
This story was originally published March 28, 2024 at 5:27 PM with the headline "‘Blessed’: Jaylen Blakes discusses his scary fall on flagrant foul in Duke’s NCAA win."