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Monday, November 9, 2009
UD’s Johnson finds solace on the court
Marcus Johnson went through an agonizing time being sidelined with a rib injury last week and watching his Dayton teammates dice up Ferris State in an exhibition game.
“I hate sitting out,” he said. “Sitting out practices or sitting out games, it’s hard.”
But something that pained Johnson even more than those sore ribs and the seat on the bench was saying good-bye to his great grandmother, Virginia Morrow, who passed away a couple of weeks ago at age 90.
Johnson, a Cleveland native, said he drew emotional support from her.
“It’s always tough losing a loved one, but she’s in a better place,” he said.
The most therapuetic thing for the senior guard was to get back on the court, and he had a solid game in the Flyers’ 71-61 exhibition win over Northern Kentucky tonight, finishing with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting and four assists with one turnover in 22 minutes.
The Flyers had six dunks, and Johnson and Chris Wright had two each.
“Me and Chris bring a lot of athleticism to the team,” Johnson said. “It’s exciting, him getting slams and me getting fastbreak dunks.”
Wright, who also missed the first exhibition because of an ankle injury, had 11 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes.
“I was happy to be out there playing with my team, my brothers,” Wright said. “We were just having fun. We wanted to see where we were after the first exhibition and a solid week of practice.”
The Flyers made some progress, despite a so-so night from the field (44.6 percent). They hit 15-of-18 free throws and had just six turnovers.
London Warren was nearly flawless at point guard with four points, nine assists, two steals and just one turnover.
The Flyers started two post players, Kurt Huelsman and Devin Searcy, who had six points apiece, but they also utilized their speed lineup with a single post and the 6-foot-8 Wright at the 4 spot. Playing Wright inside allows UD coach Brian Gregory to get Chris Johnson on the floor at the 3, and the sophomore from Columbus is clearly one of UD’s best players.
“We went ‘small’ some out there, which we’re going to have to do sometimes — maybe more than others just due to the fact of match-ups,” Gregory said. “But I like the progress of our big guys. Devin played aggressively and is doing a good job, and Kurt played well tonight, too.”
The Flyers begin the regular-season Saturday against Creighton, which was picked to finish second behind Northern Iowa in the brutally tough Missouri Valley Conference. The Bluejays, though, lost a key player in their final exhibition Sunday. Justin Carter, who is the team’s top rebounder, reportedly will be out two to four weeks with a knee injury.
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Creighton could be without top rebounder
The Dayton-Creighton season-opener on Saturday has been labeled by The Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy as the best game of college basketball’s opening weekend.
But the visiting Blue Jays were dealt a blow Sunday afternoon when team leader Justin Carter suffered a knee injury in an exhibition win. The extent of the injury is still unknown, but Carter left the arena on crutches and told the local newspaper that trainers were concerned about his MCL.
If Carter can’t play against the Flyers, the Jays will be missing their top rebounder. The 6-foot-5 senior averaged 8.1 points and 5.5 boards last season. He had 15 rebounds in an NIT game against Kentucky.
He was one of three returning starters for Creighton, which was picked to finish second behind Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley Conference and has played in the postseason 12 straight years.
One thought raced through Creighton forward Justin Carter’s mind as he lay on the Qwest Center Omaha floor Sunday afternoon, fighting back tears as pain shot through his left leg. “I just kept thinking about my future,” Carter said. “I just hoped that it wasn’t too serious.” Carter won’t know until Monday the full extent of the damage to his left knee that occurred with about eight minutes to play in the Bluejays’ 93-77 exhibition game victory over UNO. He had to be carried to the locker room but later returned to watch the final minutes of the game on the bench. ADVERTISING
He underwent about 45 minutes of treatment in the Creighton training room after the game and will have a MRI performed Monday. By the time he left the arena on crutches late Sunday afternoon, Carter’s outlook had brightened a bit. “They don’t know how bad it is, but they’re talking like it could be my MCL,” Carter said. While hardly minor, injuries to the medial collateral ligament usually aren’t as serious as those to the anterior cruciate ligament. Surgery almost always is required to repair tears to the latter, putting a player on the sidelines for four to six months. Treatment of MCL tears or sprains usually is more conservative. “When it first happened, I was thinking negative,” he said. “I’m more positive now. This could be a minor thing.” That hardly seemed the case when Carter was being attended to immediately after the injury. A hush fell over the crowd. Teammates gathered around, and Creighton coach Dana Altman had a “what-do-we-do-now” expression on his face. The 6-foot-4 Carter is considered the Bluejays’ leader. He joined the program last season as a junior-college transfer, started every game and finished as Creighton’s leading rebounder (5.5 per game) and fourth-leading scorer (8.1 points per game).
