According 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.