It's the offseason, so we're talking injuries. 6'10" Gonzaga forward Austin Daye took a tumble at the LeBron James Skills Academy a couple of days ago. Further examination indicated that he suffered a partially torn ACL in his right knee.
Daye was expected to log serious big-man minutes alongside Josh Heytvelt. With him down, the Zags will have to get creative with the smaller bodies they have left. Speculation is rampant:
If Daye is sidelined for an extended period, Gonzaga figures to move Micah Downs to the ‘4’ position (power forward) that Daye shared with the graduated David Pendergraft last season. GU coaches already were planning on shifting Ira Brown to the ‘4’ after he saw limited time at ‘3’ (small forward) last season.
[SportsLink]
Downs isn't really a "power" option for the Bulldogs, at 6'8" and just 180 lbs. But he cut his teeth at the position when Josh Heytvelt was out with a drug suspension, so he may thrive. The big question is - how will the new three-point line treat undersized teams? With Downs (.388 from deep) inside, it'll be that much more difficult for Gonzaga.
Daye's spirits are bouyed somewhat by the memory of Brandon Rush's 2007-2008 season at Kansas. Rush rehabbed a similar knee injury quickly enough to come back and win a national title with the Jayhawks.
Hat tip to SA from La Revolucion
1 comments:
Daye plays out on the wing just as much as he does in the paint, so I think this injury will hurt the 'Zags much more defensively than it will on offense. Daye can defend big power forwards, while Downs is a shooting guard than happens to be 6'8". They do have some 6'11" freshman Andy Poling coming in (I know nothing about him) so I bet he logs some minutes along side Heytvelt.
The biggest problem for the Zags with this injury is that, playing as a mid-major, so much of their tourney seeding is determined in early-season non-conference games. It took Rush 5 1/2 months (and he came back early) to come back from his knee injury, so if it takes Daye that long, you're looking at mid-December at the earliest.
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