Suggs out 8-12 weeks with foot surgery
by: Griffin Bennett
Just when we’re all getting excited about the basketball season starting, word spread last night that senior Scott Suggs was in a boot and crutches. Today the team confirmed it as Suggs has a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot. I have no idea what that is but it doesn’t sound good.
Suggs will have surgery to repair his foot and will be sidelined for 8-12 weeks. As some of you know, I have been driving the Scott Suggs bandwagon for the last three years so this hurts me deeply. $uggs was poised to have a huge senior year as many of his teammates were saying that he had drastically improved his overall game. Gant told me that he was becoming a team leader on and off of the court. Needless to say, the Huskies will need him back sooner rather than later if they plan on being title contenders.
Post-injury Analysis:
What does Suggs’ injury mean for this team? Well, 8 weeks from today would be December 9th which will be the day before the Huskies second game in NYC against Duke (Dec. 10). The team will really need all of their guns for that game.
On the other end of that spectrum, 12 weeks from today would mean that Scott would miss the first Pac-12 home stand against the Oregon schools and would return in time to play on the road at Colorado or Utah.
I really feel for Scott as he will undoubtedly miss the game st St. Louis (Nov. 20) which was a homecoming game for him in front of his family and friends. With that said, I would like to believe that Suggs is a quick healer and will be ready to play in New York.
Until early December, what does the team do? I hate this phrase, but it just may be a blessing in disguise. It will give the younger players extra playing time before the real tough games begin. Obviously, I don’t think this team is better off without Suggs but getting this young team more reps in the preseason could pay off come February and March. I think the two players who will see their playing time increase the most will be Desmond Simmons and Tony Wroten.
Simmons is a 3/4 combo forward who will fill the void at small forward as Terrence Ross will probably be playing more at the shooting guard spot when Wilcox needs rest. He is a defensive presence who can shoot and will really benefit from the extra time.
Tony Wroten was already in a battle for the time at the point but now Romar can use Wroten at the two-guard position more while playing Gaddy next to him. We will all know what kind of player Wroten is after the first eight weeks with all of this playing time.
Another benefactor from this early injury will be Hikeem Stewart. As the third-string guard, he will probably see his minutes increase from 3-5 to 5-8 in the early going.
I still think that this won’t change the fact that Andrew Andrews will red-shirt. Suggs shouldn’t miss any Pac-12 games so it wouldn’t be worth it to burn the freshmen’s extra year.
Team’s Press Release:
SEATTLE – Washington senior guard Scott Suggs will undergo surgery on Friday afternoon to repair a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, Washington Head Coach Lorenzo Romar announced. Husky team doctor Chris Wahl will perform the surgery at the UW Medical Center and Suggs’ will miss 8-12 weeks.
Suggs (Washington, Mo.) reported discomfort in the foot Tuesday and tests confirmed the fracture.
Suggs played in 31 games as a junior and averaged 7.4 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. In 2011, the 6-foot-6 Suggs ranked third among Pac-10 players by shooting 45.0% (49-109) from 3-point range. His 228 points are third most among returning Washington scorers.
Suggs joins Darnell Gant as one of two scholarship seniors on the UW roster.