PEORIA — Bradley Braves star point guard Duke Deen remained in concussion protocol on Wednesday as the team practiced ahead of its trip to the 2024 Jack Jones Classic in Henderson, Nev.
Deen was elbowed in the head by 6-foot-8, 220-pound Southern Illinois forward Antwaun Massey with 17:21 remaining in Bradley’s 83-60 win on Dec. 3.
He immediately signaled to the bench to come out, he left the game and did not return.
“I played football, had stingers, taken hard hits, but this was a feeling I’d never felt,” Deen said Wednesday as he shot around at practice under a no-contact designation. “I was going to stay in, but we were up big and we could see the way that game was going.
“There was no way they were letting me back in there. I’m feeling better and progressing, and yesterday was my first workout back.”
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Bradley head coach Brian Wardle confirmed Deen was in concussion protocol.
“Duke is progressing nicely, and hopefully we’ll have him this weekend,” Wardle said.
The 8-1 Braves face Santa Clara on Saturday in the Jack Jones Classic in Henderson, Nev.
Colorado State (5-4) will face VCU (8-2) and Pacific (5-6) plays UNLV (4-4).
An honor for a freshman
Bradley freshman guard Jaquan Johnson continues to build accolades in his first collegiate season.
He was named Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Week on Tuesday.
He scored nine points, had five steals and five assists off the bench in Bradley’s Valley conference opener win at Southern Illinois.
The freshman is averaging 5.4 points per game, with 26 assists and 14 steals — both second-bests on the team — in just 15.6 minutes.
More: How a Bradley basketball player became ‘Bully’ and found his way from Milwaukee to Peoria
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Will Bradley Braves’ Duke Deen (concussion) play Saturday?
