Duke C Plumlee remains in brothers' shadow while recovering from foot injury

If playing at Duke under coach Mike Krzyzewski didn't provide enough pressure, try being the youngest of three brothers who graduated onto the NBA from the same program. 

After becoming the first trio of siblings to play on the same college team at the same time, Marshall Plumlee finds himself trying to move past his early struggles in Durham after Mason (Brooklyn) and Miles (Phoenix) have moved on. 

Part of the 2011 recruiting class with Austin Rivers and Quinn Cook, Plumlee had his redshirt freshman year interrupted when he suffered a stress fracture in his foot that limited him to just 50 minutes. 

His role on Duke's roster last season went almost undetected and his production even more minuscule. In 19 games, the 7-foot center averaged 2.6 minutes, 0.6 rebounds and 0.1 points. 

As his foot continues to heal, Plumlee said he is continuing to make strides, evidence of that when he scored a career-high seven points and grabbed seven rebounds Saturday against Florida State. He was also able to end a miserable streak at the free throw line, which he started his college career 0-for-16.

“It’s still a transition from getting back to playing healthy and getting back to the level of athleticism you had before the injury,” Plumlee told the News & Observer. “It’s been a longer process than I anticipated. I just make sure I’m taking a step forward every day and I’m not taking any steps back. Our training staff is doing a great job of helping me with that."

Coach K has shown more trust in Plumlee over the last month, with the big man averaging almost 10 minutes over the last eight games compared to 4.5 in the first eight.

Another reason for Marshall, who's the biggest of three brothers, to remain optimistic is that Miles didn't put up overwhelming numbers in his second year at Duke but was eventually drafted. In addition, both Miles and Mason spent four years at the collegiate level before making the jump meaning the athletic 21-year-old still has lots of time to improve his game.