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Michigan basketball had a good outing at Illinois on Friday, the first win against the Illini in 10 tries, but it came with bad news.
In the first half, backup point guard LJ Cason, who had been surging of late, appeared to have a knee injury, but the concerns were lessened when he returned early in the second half. However, the allaying of said concerns were short lived when Cason departed the game and didn't return. It was announced on Sunday that Cason had torn his ACL and would be out for the rest of the season -- with just two regular-season games remaining, as well as the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
On Monday, head coach Dusty May said he's unsure of when Cason tore his ACL, noting it could have been before halftime -- though that doesn't seem feasible given what the training staff said.
"LJ, when he was hurt, we're not exactly sure," May said. "At halftime, the training staff came and said he's passed all of his jump tests, he just did the bike, he says he's 100% ready to go. And I was surprised because I was expecting him to be out, and I said, 'What about the tests?' And they said both of his knees are loose, so it's hard, like, we don't feel that anything's torn. He comes back in, he lands funny again, so I don't know when, he doesn't know when it happened."
With Cason out for the rest of the year, there's very little leeway for starting point guard Elliot Cadeau. Cadeau often sits when Cason comes in, and in the case of Friday night's game, he did so because he had accumulated early foul trouble.
Now that buffer is gone. And though that does mean Cadeau will have to be more solid, it's also an opportunity for the other guards to step up in Cason's stead.
"It's obviously unfortunate for him because he was playing so well, but when you land funny, when an ACL pops on a non-contact injury, you're like, 'Man, like, what could we have done different?'" May said. "When it happens on a funny, quirky play, usually that's when you're like, those are the ones that are not preventable.
"As far as Elliott, yeah, this will force Elliott to be, I guess, much more solid with his defensive decision making when it comes to fouling, and he doesn't have that insurance policy anymore, named LJ behind him. Because LJ came in and carried the load several games for our group, and so that's not there anymore, but this is a great opportunity for Roddy and Trey and Nimari to play more. And those guys are really good players, and our rotation's been nine, and nine, I think, is too deep. I mean, that's playing too many guys if you want to optimize everyone, but we felt like we had nine guys that deserved a play that gave us a different element, and there wasn't any of those nine that we felt like we could cut out of the rotation because of how good they are.
"We look at this as another challenge, but it's also an opportunity for guys to play a little bit more, to play longer periods, to play through a mistake, to play a little bit different role, and we do feel like these guys are a lot better than they were earlier this year, and so we're prepared to handle whatever comes at us."
Given that an ACL injury can take time to heal, it's no sure thing that Cason will return next season ready to go. Look no further than football and safety Rod Moore to see that there can also be complications.
With it now being March and the next season starting in eight months, that's likely not long enough for Cason to fully recover, even if he has surgery. Thus, the idea of Cason potentially redshirting next year and returning in 2027-28 is on the table.
"That's certainly been discussed as well," May said. "And then that impacts the recruiting decision making and all those things, but right now, we're still trying to figure out when he's going to have it, what's the timeline, does it make sense to go ahead and sit out next year? That's certainly on the table, but right now, we haven't made any definitive decisions because all the information's so inclusive, but that's certainly on the table."
We'll see the Cason-less Wolverines take the court again on Thursday when they travel to Iowa to face the Hawkeyes for the last true road game of the season.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan basketball: LJ Cason's ACL tear creates big questions
Continue reading...
In the first half, backup point guard LJ Cason, who had been surging of late, appeared to have a knee injury, but the concerns were lessened when he returned early in the second half. However, the allaying of said concerns were short lived when Cason departed the game and didn't return. It was announced on Sunday that Cason had torn his ACL and would be out for the rest of the season -- with just two regular-season games remaining, as well as the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
On Monday, head coach Dusty May said he's unsure of when Cason tore his ACL, noting it could have been before halftime -- though that doesn't seem feasible given what the training staff said.
"LJ, when he was hurt, we're not exactly sure," May said. "At halftime, the training staff came and said he's passed all of his jump tests, he just did the bike, he says he's 100% ready to go. And I was surprised because I was expecting him to be out, and I said, 'What about the tests?' And they said both of his knees are loose, so it's hard, like, we don't feel that anything's torn. He comes back in, he lands funny again, so I don't know when, he doesn't know when it happened."
With Cason out for the rest of the year, there's very little leeway for starting point guard Elliot Cadeau. Cadeau often sits when Cason comes in, and in the case of Friday night's game, he did so because he had accumulated early foul trouble.
Now that buffer is gone. And though that does mean Cadeau will have to be more solid, it's also an opportunity for the other guards to step up in Cason's stead.
"It's obviously unfortunate for him because he was playing so well, but when you land funny, when an ACL pops on a non-contact injury, you're like, 'Man, like, what could we have done different?'" May said. "When it happens on a funny, quirky play, usually that's when you're like, those are the ones that are not preventable.
"As far as Elliott, yeah, this will force Elliott to be, I guess, much more solid with his defensive decision making when it comes to fouling, and he doesn't have that insurance policy anymore, named LJ behind him. Because LJ came in and carried the load several games for our group, and so that's not there anymore, but this is a great opportunity for Roddy and Trey and Nimari to play more. And those guys are really good players, and our rotation's been nine, and nine, I think, is too deep. I mean, that's playing too many guys if you want to optimize everyone, but we felt like we had nine guys that deserved a play that gave us a different element, and there wasn't any of those nine that we felt like we could cut out of the rotation because of how good they are.
"We look at this as another challenge, but it's also an opportunity for guys to play a little bit more, to play longer periods, to play through a mistake, to play a little bit different role, and we do feel like these guys are a lot better than they were earlier this year, and so we're prepared to handle whatever comes at us."
Given that an ACL injury can take time to heal, it's no sure thing that Cason will return next season ready to go. Look no further than football and safety Rod Moore to see that there can also be complications.
With it now being March and the next season starting in eight months, that's likely not long enough for Cason to fully recover, even if he has surgery. Thus, the idea of Cason potentially redshirting next year and returning in 2027-28 is on the table.
"That's certainly been discussed as well," May said. "And then that impacts the recruiting decision making and all those things, but right now, we're still trying to figure out when he's going to have it, what's the timeline, does it make sense to go ahead and sit out next year? That's certainly on the table, but right now, we haven't made any definitive decisions because all the information's so inclusive, but that's certainly on the table."
We'll see the Cason-less Wolverines take the court again on Thursday when they travel to Iowa to face the Hawkeyes for the last true road game of the season.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan basketball: LJ Cason's ACL tear creates big questions
Continue reading...
