I'm less sure about the non-conference schedule, but that does not look super competitive thus far. He was injured in early 2026 and after 9 months of recovery/strength training he should be able to play with confidence. I am speaking from the experience of having ACL reconstruction myself, but I am not a doctor. After 9 months, I could do pretty much anything I did before and he is certainly getting more extensive conditioning/care. All that said, I do not expect him to put up the same numbers this year. The numbers might still be great, but we probably will not see so many double-doubles. There's a mental hurdle that you have to get over to play with 100% confidence against physical opponents that I don't think you can simulate in practice and training. On the other hand, if he plays with a nice brace, that can provide an immense amount of security and confidence (like nothing happened, you just have to get used to the feel of the brace). Only time will tell, but I'm hopeful. He's not one to back down. He's a bully on the court and I don't see this changing that mentality. P.S. Below is a picture from his medical team post-op. They are saying this is him flexing after his historic W over the ACL reconstruction.