Roundball Chatter
Each week I'll talk about the sport I love, college basketball:
• St. John's redshirt senior Anthony Mason Jr. has had so much tough luck throughout this career. His highly-anticipated return for the 2009-10 season will be slightly delayed, as the swingman will miss the next four to six weeks while recovering from a hamstring injury aggravated during a practice. Last season, he suffered a torn tendon in his foot that sidelined him for the rest of the campaign. Coach Norm Roberts needs a few breaks this season and the Mason news was a serious blow to the Red Storm.
• Ben Howland's team looked like a M*A*S*H unit to start the season. UCLA sophomore guard Jerime Anderson was sidelined for the start of practice due to a strained left groin. It was similar to the injury he dealt with last season. Coach Ben Howland lost Jrue Holliday and Darren Collison from last year's squad, so he needs as much support in the backcourt as possible, including a healthy Anderson. Sophomore center J'mison Morgan had some swelling in his left knee, while sophomore guard Malcolm Lee (concussion), freshman forward Brendan Lane (ankle) and freshman forward Mike Moser (back) also missed practice time. Lane's was the most serious of those three, as his sprain was likely to sideline him for 1-2 weeks. Previously James Keefe was diagnosed with a shoulder injury.
• Arizona State coach Herb Sendek received some tough news when junior guard Ty Abbott had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. He is expected to miss about a month, which would include the start of the regular season. His status is the NIT season tip-off was in question. The guard was expected to help make up for the production lost when James Harden went to the NBA. Abbott started 31 games last season for the 25-10 Sun Devils, averaging 7.1 ppg. He was also the team's third-leading rebounder at four rpg.
• Oregon State 6-7 freshman forward Rhys Murphy will be sidelined at least four weeks with a fracture in his right foot, according to head coach Craig Robinson. The injury, which took out the player from Australia, occurred in practice. Stanford lost 6-8 diaper dandy Andy Brown for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee. Is there something in the water in Pac-10 country?
• To show how tough the Big East conference is, look at Pittsburgh being ranked ninth and Marquette was picked 12th. The league has so much quality depth.
• Iowa forward Devon Archie will miss 4-7 weeks due to a shoulder injury. His absence is a blow to the Hawkeye's depth.
• I am so excited about being on Twitter. It is a lot of fun and it gives me a chance to give out my thoughts every day, updating several times a day. People can follow me at Twitter.com/dickiev.
