Clemson head coach Brad Brownell says point guard Sheldon Mitchell is unlikely to play for the 11th-ranked Tigers when they take on No. 12 Duke Sunday at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Mitchell suffered a head injury in Wednesday’s loss at Florida State when a Seminoles’ player forearm came down on his head with eight seconds to go in overtime. Mitchell stayed in Tallahassee that night for observations and returned to Clemson on Thursday.
The senior guard was placed on concussion protocol.
“I have not talked to the doctors, I would assume that it is unlikely he will play right now,” Brownell said to the media on Friday. “I have not talked with anybody today. I will do that here. I basically came right here from the car to this press conference. I have been gone all day.
“I think it is unlikely he will be out there practicing today at all and unlikely he will be playing on Sunday.”
Mitchell ranks fourth on the team in scoring with an average of 11.8 points per game. He also leads the team with 96 assists.
More than likely Brownell will start freshman Clyde Trapp in Mitchell’s place.
Duke forward Marvin Bagley is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. The forward has missed the last two games with a knee injury, but head coach Mike Krzyzewski said, “he will be back soon.”
But Bagley’s status does not matter to Brownell. The Clemson coach says the biggest concern is getting his team ready to play the Blue Devils on Sunday with or without Mitchell.
Clemson (20-5, 9-4 ACC) is already without senior forward Donte Gratham, who is out for the season with a torn ACL.
“Certainly, you put a plan together, but you are worried about what your team looks like. We will adjust again,” he said. “We have to do it already and our guys have done well with it for the most part. You hate for anybody to be hurt right now. This is an exciting time of year, a fun time of the year, great games. You want your best players, and the kids that have worked extremely hard and put in the time and have the experience, to be out there.
“But we have a lot of those guys on scholarship and it is their turn to step up and play.”
When asked if Mitchell could be available to play next Wednesday at Virginia Tech, Brownell said he was not sure.
Brownell says Mitchell’s spirits are okay. He had not seen him before talking to the media, but he was with him on Thursday when he was being seen by the doctors.
“His spirits were good,” the Clemson coach said. “He still was not all the way back to normal, but he is doing okay for a guy that has been through a lot. This will not be easy, but he is a good kid and he will be fine eventually.”