Wow, it’s not even officially Midnight Madness yet, and key players on national title contenders are already dropping like flies. Last week we had the news that UNC’s stalwart defender on the wing, Marcus Ginyard, had a stress fracture in his foot and will be out until December. Tonight we find out that Louisville’s Terrence Williams tore his medial meniscus in his right knee and will be out of action for 4-6 weeks. From Card Chronicle:
U of L head coach Rick Pitino had much larger fears when he first heard about the injury.”We were positive it was going to be an ACL,” Pitino told Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports. “He landed on it the wrong way. The good news is he’ll be back in four weeks.” Williams landed awkwardly on his right knee and heard a pop, a sound which prompted Pitino’s initial angst. But an MRI taken at Jewish Hospital revealed only the meniscus tear. Williams will have surgery tomorrow. “Knowing T-Will, he’ll be back in three weeks,” Pitino said. “He’s in great spirits. He thought it was an ACL, too.”
This Hurts Our Knees By Just Looking At It
Since Pitino came to Louisville in 2001, it seems that his teams there have never been completely at full strength. From David Padgett to Juan Palacios to Andre McGee to Taquan Dean to Derrick Caracter, injuries and suspensions have us wondering just what kind of deal with the devil Coach P made when he returned to the Bluegrass State – the program just can’t seem to catch much of a break in that department.
The good news for the Cards is that it has a relatively late opening game on Nov. 22 (Morehead St.), with another week before its second game (W. Kentucky), and still another week before its third (Indiana St.). Louisville’s first truly difficult game will be Dec. 18 (@ Ole Miss), and by all indications, T-Will should be back to 100% by then. It’s a good thing too, because Williams does a little bit of everything for the Cards – his numbers were 11/7/5 assts including not one, but two trip-dubs last season.