DURHAM — It took barely a minute for Duke basketball to discover how important sophomore guard Tyrese Proctor would be for the Blue Devils this season in ACC play.

Proctor rolled his left ankle just 1 minute, 15 seconds into Duke's ACC opener at Georgia Tech and missed the completion of the Blue Devils' 72-68 loss.

With ACC play resuming Tuesday against Syracuse (10-3, 1-1 ACC) for a 19-game stretch to close out the regular season, Proctor's return to the court Saturday during a 106-69 win over Queens was, well, just what the doctor ordered.

"He needed it," said Duke coach Jon Scheyer. "We wanted to be very cautious with him, but at the same time you have to get back out there at some time. There’s going to be rust no matter what. There’s going to be game shape and we felt like this was an important step for him."

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Proctor stepped on the court at the 12:48 mark of the first half to a thunderous roar from the sellout crowd of Duke (9-3, 0-1) faithful at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Coming off the bench for just the third time in his college career, the sophomore point guard scored nine points, dished out two assists and dealt with "a little bit of pain, but that’s going to come with it," he said.

Scheyer planned to play his captain around 15 minutes Saturday, but the flow of the game had him push closer to 18. Scheyer added that Proctor could have played in Duke's Dec. 20 win against No. 10 Baylor at Madison Square Garden, but he didn't want to rush his return.

"I thought he played efficiently, played under control and gave us — Tyrese," Scheyer said. "He looked great tonight. I was happy with what he did and I think he’ll only grow from it."

Why Tyrese Proctor is so important to Duke basketball

While sidelined for three games, Proctor continued aiding his team with point guard eyes. To have his basketball IQ and point guard awareness on the court is important for a team that might be playing its best basketball of the young season.

"His leadership is everything he brings on and off the floor," said senior guard Jeremy Roach. "Obviously, he was doing a hell of a job just coaching us and seeing what he sees off the floor, I mean he’s a point guard so he’s seeing everything out there. With him back on the court, it just brings our team to another level."

Proctor averaged 11.7 points per game in seven games before his injury and had dished out a team-high 36 assists. It begs the question whether the loss to Georgia Tech would have had a different outcome had he been healthy for the game's entirety.

The answer will forever be a mystery, but should all go well the rest of the season, Proctor will be on the court for the next 19 ACC contests.

"It was great to have Tyrese back today, just get him a game back, get him comfortable again on the court," said sophomore Kyle Filipowski. "You can see his feel and touch haven’t gone anywhere. It’s just great to have him back out there taking a step toward ACC play."

Emergence of Jared McCain and Caleb Foster

Freshman Caleb Foster was the beneficiary of Proctor's absence and started his fourth game in a row on Saturday.

Foster averaged more than 31 minutes per game since Proctor's injury, up 9 minutes from what he averaged off the bench in the seven games prior.

With a healthy Proctor back on the floor, Foster will likely fall back to the numbers he had off the bench, although he's averaging 9.4 points per game this season, including a 10.6 average in Proctor's stead.

Fellow freshman Jared McCain, who poured in a career-high 24 points on Saturday, has started every game this season but saw his minutes tick up by more than 6 per game while Proctor was sidelined.

"I think, especially the guards, Caleb, Jared, and even Jeremy stepping up as our captain, has really blossomed these past few weeks," said Filipowski, "It’s really nice seeing their collective effort from all of them carrying the load and not leaving it to one of them to be the ball handler or do it all at the guard position."

Proctor compared the team's growth while he was out to last season, when Roach missed four games while dealing with a nagging toe injury sustained in a game against Purdue in late November. The Blue Devils finished that season as ACC Tournament champions.

"Last year, Jeremy went down early in Portland and I sort of built my confidence through that, so I think that sort of carried over this year and Jared and Caleb really stepped up while I was out," Proctor said. "I think it’s just a good transition into ACC play."

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Why Duke basketball guard Tyrese Proctor is important to Blue Devils