The next step for Grayson Allen is going to be even harder than being suspended

— -- Now comes the hard part.

As difficult as it may have been for Duke Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski to sit Grayson Allen down and tell him his junior season was on indefinite hiatus, what's next will be even more challenging.

And twice as critical. Suspending Allen indefinitely for his third tripping offense was the right decision. Allen needs the timeout. But it's what he does with the time off, and equally important, how Duke handles his absence that will be the most telling.

Remember this is the team that started the season as a clear-cut favorite to win a national title. Loaded with freshmen talent, armed with veterans returning and coached by the ultimate winner the Blue Devils lacked nothing. Injuries put some of those early season goals on the back burner but the strong belief always was that once Duke was whole again, this team would soar back once again to the oddsmaker's title favorite.

But part of that assumption was based on Allen. Remember, he was a leading Wooden Award candidate when the season started, the star attraction on a team loaded with stars.

The assumption also was based on the notion that the Blue Devils, once healthy -- Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum, Marques Bolden and even Allen have struggled with injuries -- would stroll along with nary a hiccup. This is more than a hiccup. This is an indeterminate belly ache.

Duke players will be asked about Allen's behavior, and asked about playing without him. Krzyzewski will be pressed on when Allen might return and what he wants his star player to learn from all of this. And, of course, once he's reinserted into the lineup Allen will be besieged.

At some point, too, the circus will hit the road, traveling through ACC towns and cities that aren't exactly predisposed to like the Blue Devils on a good day. Eventually the road will lead to the NCAA tournament. Yes, that is three months away and by then would seem a dead issue. Those who truly believes Allen's tripping propensity will become a dead issue are also waiting on the jolly old man and his reindeer to arrive on Sunday.

So how Duke weathers the storm, the X's and O's on-court reality of losing one of its best players and the off-the-court mayhem his absence creates, will determine how this season goes as much as, if not more than, Giles' knee stability.

The good news to the former is that Luke Kennard has been the steadiest and best player for the Blue Devils all season. Now everyone, including Giles, is healthy. And the good news to the latter is there are plenty of older players -- Amile Jefferson and Matt Jones, especially -- to help walk the freshmen through their first minefield. Of course, this isn't exactly the head coach's first rodeo, either.

In the grand scheme of things what happens to the Blue Devils pales in comparison to what happens with Allen. This isn't about his NBA future. Certainly plenty of NBA general managers are looking at Allen hard, weighing the decision to invest in his skills versus the money burned if he's suspended for bad behavior. But this is bigger than that.

Part of what makes Allen so good is the passion he plays with, a fearless abandon that fuels him. He can't lose that edge, but he also can't teeter off of it. That's a tricky line to walk, to learn to play with emotion without playing emotionally, to trust himself enough to let go -- but not go too far. But Duke absolutely needs him to master that, so that when he returns to the lineup the Blue Devils get all of the parts that make Grayson Allen great and none that make him a liability.

No matter what he does when he returns, even if he scores 50 points, behaves perfectly and helps old ladies across the court during timeouts, there will be a segment of the population that will never forgive Allen and never like Duke.

But this isn't about them. It's not even about public remorse or reputation repair. When little kids are sent to the timeout chair, they're told to think about their behavior.

This is Grayson Allen's time to think about what he's done.

Frankly, it's time for Grayson Allen to grow up. Duke's season might be depending on it.