Arizona's Jordin Mayes' foot surgery is a bigger deal than you might think
by K_Zim on Jul 14, 2011 7:23 PM PDT
in Arizona Wildcats Basketball
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PrintAccording to CBSSports' Jeff Goodman, Arizona Wildcats' point guard Jordin Mayes had surgery on his foot a few weeks ago, months after Mayes played through what was later found to be a stress fracture in his foot during the NCAA Tournament.
Head coach Sean Miller told Goodman that Mayes will be A-OK for the beginning of full practices, but it's unclear if the injury was the same as the stress fracture or a different injury altogether. Following the Elite Eight tournament run, Mayes was wearing a protective boot around campus. -- the Arizona training staffs often put the boots on athletes as a precautionary measure (seriously, people who you don't think are injured are walking around in boots then show up for a game and look fine).
Apparently, Mayes was back on the court and hoopin' at a summer league game when he felt discomfort in the same foot. Said Miller to Goodman:
"The good news is he did it in the summer. He’s 2 1/2-weeks into it and should be fine for when we really need him, but we’re being cautious and taking it slow."
The injury comes as a slight concern, especially if it means Mayes is especially injury prone. Like forward Kevin Parrom and his own multiple foot injuries, Mayes' 4.9 points per game as a freshman didn't show how much he added to the team. Furthermore, Mayes' role is huge with the transfer of Momo Jones to Iona. Even with talented Josiah Turner coming in, I've been in the camp that the starting job isn't all but Turner's.
Don't think Mayes has his eyes on it? After all, the guy was a winner in high school, is well-coached and arguably was a better floor general than Jones last season. He was the ultimate up-tempo guy, knowing when to push it (I always thought Jones wasn't as good in this area) and when to pull it back.
Plus, for all of Turner's offensive capabilities, there's a huge learning curve defensively. Mayes' year in Miller's system and freakish 6-foot-9 wingspan gives him a chance to start, and Miller's not the type of guy to hand a freshman the keys to the ship if he's not ready (see Bejarano, Daniel).
For the Wildcats' sake, this is just a fluke and not a trend in Mayes' career. And as far as a loss to the roster goes, this one, if Mayes keeps getting injured, is much bigger than it would appear.
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Too much spectulation!!!!
I have followed Jordin Mayes career from his play at the park, …AAU……basketball camps…high school…now college…while I not attend his games…I watch him on television, read his stat lines ….reading blogs……scouting reports….and frankly I am glad he is under the radar……..but he is not like Olden….he is not injury prone…..please do not speculate…..the injury he had was exactly what was said and not a sign of something bigger ….he when to class a couple days later…..this appears as if everyone thinks Jordin went to college to sit on the bench, he was a freshman so he played behind Momo…..now he is supposed to play behind a freshman? I don’t care who this freshman is…..why would anyone aspire to play behind a freshman who does not know the coach’s system yet? Why is it no one wants to show they have confidence in a young man who is very confident in what he can do?? AZ had a good team last season and a good one this season because the veterans help seal the deal. This year they will play as a team and who knows how far they will go> You can;t stake everything on freshman players. Not realistic….. some team members did not learn all of the fundamentals of college ball and these new ones will have to learn as well or maybe they will have lots of time on the bench learning. Jordin and Josiah played AAU ….and Jordin did not come off the bench. So let’s no speculate….rather wait till season starts….
It's not speculation
I’m just saying that Jordin will be a big part of the team. He’s talented and he can help to a great deal, maybe even more than people might think. As far as the injury goes, it doesn’t matter whether what the deal is … the guy is missing out on practicing and improving right now. That’s a big deal. Of course, if he shows up healthy in a few months it appears like all is well, but he’s still missed out on some summer ball to improve.
I mean it as a compliment to Jordin. Because he’s a bigger part of this team than people seem to believe.
Thanks!
I appreciate your response. I apologize if I it sounding as if I were attacking you but I was just another site where everyone has decided that Jordin went to UA to be a backup to every recruit that comes in after him. Granted Coach Miller should gets kudos for landing JT but he does not usually start freshmen and that was my argument with those others. I was told today Jordin’s progress is going great and he is working out everything but the foot. He is a hard worker and has the Jordan and Kobe intensity. He just does his workout and does get into the drama. Maybe that is why his friends get so rowdy in his defense. He will be back working out in its entirety soon. Again, I apologize for coming on so strong.
No worries
We agree that he’s a bigger part of this team than he’s given credit for. My point was that it’s a big deal because having such a key player miss any amount of time is never good, even in the offseason. I know Jordin’s a hard worker, too, and I really do think he’s going to blow up this coming year.
I say this is a bigger deal that you might think because of that. I don’t think it’s as big of a concern that he had two injuries as I do think it’s a big concern that he’s missing time. Injury-prone or not — maybe coincidence — made KP (why I compared them) miss a lot of practice his freshman year. That hurt him, no doubt. Same with Mayes missing time.
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