DURHAM, N.C. _ Among the things Mike Krzyzewski must handle the rest of this season, point guard Tre Jones' workload is near the top.
"His physical condition is of utmost concern," Duke's Hall of Fame coach said Monday on an ACC conference call with reporters.
Wendell Moore's return from a broken hand plays directly into allaying Krzyzewski's concerns.
Moore, a 6-6 freshman guard, saw his played in his first game in a month on Saturday in Duke's 79-67 win at Syracuse. He experienced no setbacks after his 24 minutes of play and is ready to go again when the No. 7 Blue Devils play at Boston College Tuesday (7 p.m., ESPN).
"His shape was excellent," Krzyzewski said of Moore Monday, in response to a question from The News & Observer. "We've been able to keep up with that. He had minimal soreness (Sunday). He was fine. Just going to keep moving on. So that's a huge step for our team."
Duke (18-3, 8-2 ACC) played six games without Moore after his Jan. 6 surgery. He suffered a broken fourth metacarpal bone and the procedure inserted screws to stabilize the bone and promote healing.
The Blue Devils were 4-2 without him, and relied more on juniors Jordan Goldwire and Alex O'Connell and sophomore Joey Baker for backcourt depth throughout that period.
With Moore in the lineup against Syracuse, Goldwire's minutes fell to 14 minutes, 45 seconds and Baker didn't play at all.
Jones, though, played all 40 minutes and Duke needed him. He made 10 free throws in the game's final 2:35 to help stave off the Orange. He did so while also handling the ball against the zone trap pressure defense Syracuse employed as it desperately attempted to rally from a 15-point, second-half deficit.
"Down the stretch," Krzyzewski said Saturday night, "Tre didn't turn it over, he hit every free throw, beat traps and got the ball back."
