Per news sources at yesterday's practice. I'm sure we'll hear more about it soon. This could be devastating for the style that Shaka has installed.
It's a killer in a lot of ways. Your leading rebounder by a mile. He's been our only inside scoring threat at the post. His defense down low will be greatly missed. The other two centers get in foul trouble when they play for an extended time. This puts more emphasis on the outside shooting and Taylor driving to the hoop, you would think.
(*&^%*(*&$%^...This kills us....offensively it totally changes everything because he was a beast inside that took some pressure off our outside shooting. Now teams can get in our guards faces without concern about the inside game. Defensively we are screwed in that teams can drive the paint without worry of getting stuffed w/o a foul. So freaking frustrating...Aside from FT shooting he was having a great season...SMH...Why the heck does this have to happen.?
Cleare is going to have to step up his game. Ibeh is too offensively challenged to be more than a defensive sub. I think that Shaka will be able to work around the injury to a certain degree but it will be felt.
It would be nice to know more about the extent of the injury. Many stress fractures of the foot heal in 6 weeks, others (inc those that require surgery) obviously take longer. But Cam could still be available for a significant portion of the season if the fracture isn't a particularly serious one. Hopefully more information will be available soon.
*** **** it!!! This is devastating. Cam has been a force inside. Defensively, and recently his scoring has been improving. Wow. We can't seem to catch a break (no pun intended) this year. I don't see any way we can hang with U Conn with Cam out. Not saying miracles can't happen, but am saying that we will now need one Tuesday night to upset the Huskies.
Well you might take this into consideration, for the UConn game. UCONNHUSKIES.COM :: University of Connecticut Huskies Official Athletic Site :: Men's Basketball
Given U Conn's injury bug I'm not overly pessimistic about tonight. I have faith in Shaka's coaching abilities and think there's a decent chance that the team can adjust on the fly. If Cleare picks up his game, we'll be okay and have a reasonable chance to win.
Cleare has the ability to pick up and play in Cams stead but he needs a lot more playing time. He was a contributor under Turgeon with the Terps in a big time conference. He just couldn't find a groove at Maryland. He has a chip on his shoulder and a lot to prove but he has the chops. I think he has big time player ability and potential and if he keeps getting quality playing time, making the most of it and gaining confidence, he can help salvage what could be an abysmal season for Texas with the Cam loss. Cleare and Taylor have good chemistry which could help.
Ridley is not going to hurry back to play in any college ball this year, his future is about having healthy feet and for a big man like him they are way to important to risk in some meaningless college games.....
