Dorm Report: Catching breaks

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Injuries are a part of all sports, including basketball. It is a simple, unfortunate, but altogether factual reality.

There is no way to predict when they may occur, whether in the heat of the NCAA Tournament or during the summer months, when basketball has receded into the background of our collective minds as sports fans.

With the college basketball season just weeks away, the injury bug has been rearing its ugly head and wreaking havoc on unsuspecting programs and their fan bases.

One of the first victims was Illinois, which lost starting point guard Tracy Abrams in early September. The 6-foot-2 senior tore the ACL in his right knee while participating in a preseason workout and will be out for the entire 2014-15 season.

That was troubling news to receive before the team’s schedule was completely finalized. Aside from Abrams’ experience and leadership as an upperclassmen, the Illini will simply miss his ability to fill up the box score. He was one of the top returning offensive options from last season’s team. In fact, with an average of 10.7 points per game, Abrams was one of only two double- figure scorers, the other being Rayvonte Rice.

Even more importantly, Abrams held the keys to coach John Groce’s offensive scheme, leading the team with 3.2 assists per game while running the point.

Luckily for Groce, he still has options and not just because he gets back Rice and his 15.9 points per game.

“Obviously, we don’t want to lose Tracy,” Groce said before adding, “For us, we’re going to be fine. We’ve got Ahmad Starks, who’s been terrific on the offensive end.”

The Illini added Starks, a former Oregon State guard, via transfer last season and he is now eligible to play after sitting out per NCAA transfer rules. Starks shot 39.5 percent from 3-point range and averaged 10.4 points and 2.3 assists per game in his final season with the Beavers.

Additionally, sophomore Jaylon Tate was an assist machine in high school and will now have a chance to start piling them up at the college level with added playing time.

Not all programs have the depth to handle injuries to important players, however. Such is the case at Mississippi State, where leading scorer Craig Sword will be out four-to-six weeks because of complications caused by a bulging disk in his back.

Last season, Sword filled up the cup to the tune of 13.7 points per game. He was one of only two double-figure scorers for a Bulldogs squad that finished at just 14-19 overall and 3-15 in SEC play.

For what it’s worth, the team still has Gavin Ware (10 ppg, 7.2 rebounds per game), Fred Thomas (9.3 ppg) and Roquez Johnson (9.7 ppg), but Sword’s absence cannot be understated. Perhaps coach Rick Ray should see if Dak Prescott can take a break from leading the top-ranked football team and give basketball a try.

Several hundred miles north, in College Park, the situation seems to keep getting worse for the Maryland Terrapins. After a distressing offseason filled with the transfer of several important players and continued public pressure on coach Mark Turgeon, the Terps got even more bad news on Sunday, with the announcement that Evan Smotrycz would miss four-to-six weeks with a fracture in his left foot.

Maryland already lost Seth Allen (13.4 ppg), Nick Faust (9.4 ppg) and Charles Mitchell (6.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg), who all transferred. Now, without Smotrycz for the next month or so, the Terps will be at an even bigger disadvantage as it begins its first season as a member of the Big Ten. Smotrycz was the top returning rebounder for the team (six rpg) as well as one of three returning double-figure scorers (11 ppg).

On top of that, Smotrycz has been one of the more vocal supporters of Turgeon, who has been under siege due to his team’s mediocre performance on the court and the alarming number of transferring players this past year.

Until Smotrycz comes back, expect Turgeon to draw up a lot of plays for Dez Wells, last season’s leading scorer.

Speaking of last season’s top offensive threats, Loyola-Chicago coach Porter Moser has the unenviable and unexpected task of replacing his. On Friday, it was announced Milton Doyle would be out indefinitely due to a shoulder injury.

According to a release from the school, Doyle will miss five-to-six weeks rehabilitating the shoulder before deciding if he should undergo surgery, which would keep him out for up to nine more months.

The Ramblers are obviously not one of the elite squads in the country, but Doyle’s play as a freshman last season, following his transfer from Kansas, gave the program hope for the future. Doyle led Loyola, which finished at just 10-22, in scoring (14.9 ppg), assists (3.6 apg) and steals (1.2 spg).

With Doyle on the floor, the Ramblers could afford some optimism. Without him, their prospects are even bleaker than usual, even for a team that has only two 20-win campaigns in the last 30 seasons.

These will not be the only injuries this season, that is certain. Unfortunately for Illinois, Mississippi State, Maryland and Loyola, there is no solace in having company on the injury train.

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball