The college basketball world rallied Friday around Vermont’s TJ Long, who suffered an apparent non-contact injury in the closing minutes of the Catamounts’ 64-47 loss to Duke at Barclays Center.
Immediately after the game, Duke posted on the official X’s account, “Prayers for TJ Long.”
Long, a native of Rockville Center on Long Island and Vermont’s leading scorer this season after transferring from Fairfield, made an awkward drive to the basket with 1:18 left and Duke leading by 15 points. I fell to the floor.
“Oh, TJ Long,” play-by-play announcer Ian Eagle said as Long was on the floor.
“Barclays Center is completely silent. TJ Long is out and in pain,” CBS Sports’ John Fanta wrote on X.
Long, a junior guard at Rockville Center, was helped to the locker room and left on crutches, according to reports.
Vermont coach John Becker told CBS reporter Matt Norlander after the game that his initial hope was that Long “didn’t have a catastrophic knee injury,” and that the severity of the injury would be determined. He said further tests are awaited.
“He was obviously in pain and obviously upset,” Becker said, according to the Associated Press. “His parents got through it.
“So I left them alone.”
It was a tough night in all aspects for Long, who scored just three points on 1-of-8 shooting in nearly 36 minutes.
“He’s got five wins this year. He’s got magic. He’s had magic all year long,” Becker told The Associated Press. “He’s a great kid, a great basketball player, and he gets a lot of attention from other teams.
“They face-guarded him the whole game. They didn’t get away from him. And that’s hard because things like that have been happening for a long time,” the coach added. “I go with that kid every week. And without his season and his heroics, we wouldn’t be here today.”
