WASHINGTON \u2014 Exactly 20 days ago, when Caleb Foster was sobbing his eyes out on a golf cart in Cameron Indoor Stadium, painfully aware he\u2019d just broken his right foot, he never could have imagined this.<\/p>\n
And yet, here he is.<\/p>\n
Or, more accurately, here Duke is: Still dancing, and advancing to its third consecutive Elite Eight after Friday\u2019s Sweet 16 comeback against St. John\u2019s. And while, yes, the thriller inside Capital One Arena will be remembered for No. 1 Duke surviving No. 5 St. John\u2019s 80-75 <\/a>\u2014 let\u2019s be honest.<\/p>\n Friday will endure as The Caleb Foster Game, now and forevermore.<\/p>\n For good reason, too. Because there is no rationale or logical explanation for what transpired in the nation\u2019s capital Friday: Duke\u2019s point guard somehow, some way, playing 18 unflinching minutes not even three weeks after foot surgery, scoring 11 pivotal second-half points to effectively save the Blue Devils\u2019 season.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had no business playing tonight. Ninety-nine percent of guys do not come back to play under the circumstances of what\u2019s happened to him,\u201d said Duke coach Jon Scheyer. \u201cIt was incredible the way he willed us. There\u2019s no analytics, there\u2019s no stats that can measure how big this dude\u2019s heart is.\u201d<\/p>\n Or, as head athletic trainer Jose Fonseca put it: \u201cMiracles happen in March, and I think we just witnessed the first one for us.\u201d<\/p>\n The only problem with that sentiment is it ignores the grueling rehab and recovery Foster endured, all with the insatiable desire to return for Duke\u2019s pursuit of the program\u2019s sixth national championship.<\/p>\n That began not even an hour after Foster first suffered the injury, awkwardly pushing off his foot and crumpling immediately to the ground. It admittedly took the junior \u2014 who missed the NCAA Tournament as a freshman because of an ankle injury \u2014 time to compose himself. But eventually, he emerged back on the bench for Duke\u2019s win over rival North Carolina, telling teammates and Fonseca the same thing that became his north star:<\/p>\n \u201cHe said, \u2018I\u2019m gonna be back,\u2019\u201d Fonseca remembered. \u201cWho am I to tell him no?\u201d<\/p>\n The next morning, Foster had surgery in Duke\u2019s on-campus hospital, but when teammates and coaches came to visit him, his message hadn\u2019t changed. Doctors told Foster then that there was a chance he could return for a postseason push, but likely not until the Final Four, if the Blue Devils were fortunate enough to make it that far.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said two weeks \u2026\u201d Foster began saying atop the postgame dais, before Scheyer cut him off:<\/p>\n \u201cNobody said two weeks,\u201d Scheyer shot back with a smile. \u201cYou heard two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n Guilty as charged.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s where my mindset was at,\u201d Foster added.<\/p>\n And over the past 19 days, Foster\u2019s flame was inextinguishable, in a manner that more than compares to some of the most memorable Duke injury recoveries of this generation.<\/p>\n \u201cHis work ethic is just as good as, say, a guy like Kyrie (Irving) or Zion (Williamson), right? But the timing is different,\u201d Fonseca said. \u201cHonestly, (if) this happens in the fall, the summertime, we\u2019re telling Coach, six, probably eight weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, Foster made rehab his full-time job. Early mornings. Late nights. Everything Fonseca and the rest of Duke\u2019s training staff told him to do, all while answering the forever follow-ups: How do you feel after yesterday? Are you sore? Can you do more? It was a step-by-step incremental process, one done in conjunction with Duke\u2019s trainers and coaches, Foster\u2019s agent and family.<\/p>\n But it all came down to Foster, who grew up a Duke fan in Harrisburg, N.C., and who \u2014 in his own words \u2014 \u201cwanted to come out and provide anything possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Safe to say he did more than that.<\/p>\n Beyond his physical recovery, Foster also had to keep his skills sharp. And much of the credit for helping him do so belongs to Duke\u2019s player development specialist, Jayce McCain, whose younger brother is former Duke star and current Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain. Over the past three weeks, McCain and Foster were all but attached at the hip, doing anything possible to keep Foster as game-ready as possible.<\/p>\n Which, yes, meant trying to practice while Foster was still using a knee rover scooter.<\/p>\n Form shots, 20 to 30 of them, from everywhere on the court you can imagine.<\/p>\n Ballhandling drills, even with Foster\u2019s foot in a boot.<\/p>\n \u201cMy brother is known as one of the best workers, and Caleb is right in that tier,\u201d McCain said. \u201cAs corny as it sounds, I believe in Caleb Foster more than anyone. \u2026 If anyone could do it, it\u2019s Caleb.\u201d<\/p>\n But it wasn\u2019t until last weekend, when Duke beat No. 16 Siena and No. 9 TCU in Greenville, S.C., that the possibility of Foster\u2019s return became real. Fonseca got a call from Foster\u2019s agent relaying something Foster texted his family: I\u2019m ready to go.<\/p>\n By Wednesday of this week, before Duke left Durham, Fonseca put that sentiment to the test. He had Foster go through a workout to test his readiness \u2014 thinking especially about Sweet 16 opponent St. John\u2019s physical, top-10 defense.<\/p>\n The next morning, Foster\u2019s soreness was minimal. The final checkpoint, cleared.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then, boom,\u201d Fonseca said, smiling. \u201cHere we are today.\u201d<\/p>\n Foster\u2019s return once seemed a luxury for the top overall seed in this NCAA Tournament, with five-star freshman point guard Cayden Boozer waiting in the wings. It turned out to be a necessity.<\/p>\n And though Foster had a limited impact in the first half, with just one rebound and one assist in seven minutes, it was clear that he didn\u2019t look all that rusty.<\/p>\n Especially to his mother, Yvonne, wearing a Duke blue shawl directly behind the Blue Devils bench.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was locked in, like always,\u201d Yvonne said. \u201cToday was just a really good indication of how tough he really is, and how much he loves the game.\u201d<\/p>\n And, as Foster proved in the second half, how essential he is to Duke\u2019s postseason survival.<\/p>\n