Blackett will play rest of the season with stress fracture

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warriorfan808
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Blackett will play rest of the season with stress fracture

Post by warriorfan808 »

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/artic ... sp02p.html
Dayton Morinaga wrote:Blackett still hurting, but returns to practice

Senior forward Jeff Blackett may have to play the rest of this season with a stress fracture in his foot.

He missed two days of practice with a skin infection, and the fracture was also discovered during a visit to the doctor.

Wallace said "Big Matt" Gipson will start at power forward tomorrow night, with Blackett playing a reserve role.

"We'll have to monitor (Blackett's) minutes because of the injury," Wallace said. "He can play with it, but he just can't go the whole game."

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Post by UH Fan »

As bad as it may sound, I don't think it's really such a bad thing for Hawaii...

Don't get me wrong, I love the play of Blackett, but this means Gipson gets more playing time, and I think Big Matt actually plays better at the power forward better than coming in for Botez at center. Also, I like Gipson's all-around game and I think he can emerge as a scoring force, if given more playing time.

Just to remind you... if the San Jose St. game is an indication of how Hawaii will play when Gipson starts, it could get pretty good...

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Post by warriorfan808 »

UH Fan wrote:As bad as it may sound, I don't think it's really such a bad thing for Hawaii...

Don't get me wrong, I love the play of Blackett, but this means Gipson gets more playing time, and I think Big Matt actually plays better at the power forward better than coming in for Botez at center. Also, I like Gipson's all-around game and I think he can emerge as a scoring force, if given more playing time.

Just to remind you... if the San Jose St. game is an indication of how Hawaii will play when Gipson starts, it could get pretty good...
I don't think that the San Jose State game indicated anything. We were playing the worste team in conference at home. I didn't even think we played well during the game, they just were that bad.

I do believe that Gipson has a lot of game, but out of all the big men, Blackett is the only one who seems to stay out of foul trouble. All of this could only mean more time for Botez who is extremely foul prone. What we'll need is for our other center, damn I forgot his name, to step up more. I think his Mininovic or something like that. I could look it up, but I'm too lazy.

Anyway, I'll sum it all up.
Blackett = quality minutes
Gipson will be able to take up some of the time, but someone else is going to have to step it up.

Also, you all gotta remember that Sensley is coming down with something and hasn't practiced all week long. I predict he'll be losing minutes as well.

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Post by ktownwarrior »

You don't think this is such a bad thing, UH Fan?

I do. If Blackett can't play at 100%, who's going to help at the PF spot? Blackett's a tough guy so he should still contribute quite a bit, but his potential to skyrocket from an impressive season last year is now almost officially done for. This is big news and I hope it doesn't have an impact like I think it will.

Oh, warriorfan, he's Milos Zivanovic, the king of flops on the team. ;)

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Post by warriorfan808 »

ktownwarrior wrote:You don't think this is such a bad thing, UH Fan?

I do. If Blackett can't play at 100%, who's going to help at the PF spot? Blackett's a tough guy so he should still contribute quite a bit, but his potential to skyrocket from an impressive season last year is now almost officially done for. This is big news and I hope it doesn't have an impact like I think it will.

Oh, warriorfan, he's Milos Zivanovic, the king of flops on the team. ;)
Yeah, his name came up later on. I am happy that Milos put on some weight from last season. If we're going to have a run at anything next season, him and Botez are going to have to really hit the plates. I don't mean just the weights, I mean the mixed plates :P.

I was just thinking about our team next season. The only loss I can see that would really hurt us would be the loss of Blackett. Now that Blackett has a stress fracture, is there anyway he can get a medical redshirt for this season? If he came back next season, we would be a sweet 16 team for sure.

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Post by ktownwarrior »

I think he's probably played in too many games to receive that, unfortunately. Mississippi State lost Winsome Frazier, their best defender and a guy who gives them 14 ppg and a perimeter thread, but he won't get a medical redshirt because he played too many games this season and so this, his senior year, is his last.

edit: Oops, nevermind. Blackett's gonna start.

link: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/artic ... sp07p.html
UH team stricken by flu-like symptoms

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer


The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team had a sick feeling yesterday, and it is hoping to find a remedy with a victory tonight.

Three players and head coach Riley Wallace were suffering from flu-like symptoms yesterday. And that sick list did not include star forward Julian Sensley, who returned to practice after missing the previous two days with an illness.

"You're always concerned when it's affecting this many guys, especially the day before a game," Wallace said. "But there's not much we can do now. Just hope we're all better by (today) and hope nobody else gets it."

Sick or not, the Rainbow Warriors will host Southern Methodist in a Western Athletic Conference game tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"Every game is important from here on out, and you can't look for excuses," senior forward Jeff Blackett said. "You just have to be ready to do even more than your part if other guys are out."

Starting forward "Big Matt" Gipson, reserve center Milos Zivanovic and walk-on Seth Caine were the sick players who skipped practice yesterday. Wallace coached the team, but from a seat on the side of the court.

The most significant illness is Gipson, who was expected to start if healthy.

Blackett will probably start at power forward, and Wallace said he hopes Gipson will be available in a reserve role, at least.

"He's a tough kid, so we'll see how he feels (today)," Wallace said of Gipson.

Sensley said he is "85 to 90 percent" and dropped five pounds during his two-day battle with the flu-like symptoms. He is expected to start tonight.

"I was only out two days, so it's not like I lost all my conditioning," Sensley said. "I'm just glad I was able to come back and get in one day of practice."

The Mustangs are not exactly a healthy team, either.

Star point guard Bryan Hopkins sat out of his second consecutive practice last night with an injury to his right (shooting) wrist. He is expected to start tonight.

Starting shooting guard Derrick Roberts did not even make the trip to Honolulu because of a knee injury.

"We're 7-5 but we're hard to gauge," first-year SMU head coach Jimmy Tubbs said. "I'd like to see a more consistent effort."

The Mustangs were often tabbed as underachievers in recent years, but Tubbs has invigorated the players with an up-tempo attack that is averaging 71.4 points per game.

"It's a whole different mindset," Tubbs said of the difference between this year's Mustangs and last year's group under former head coach Mike Dement.

Starting center Eric Castro said: "We had to deal with some injuries this year, but I would say we're still a better team now than we were last year."

Hopkins has received most of the attention. He is averaging 17.5 points and 4.8 assists per game, and leads the WAC with 37 3-pointers and 23 steals.

But as Sensley noted: "It's not like you have to just shut down one guy on that team. They have three or four others who are really good."

Among them is Castro, who is contributing 14.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and leads the WAC with a 64 percent field-goal percentage.

"He's a real bull," Wallace said of the 6-foot-8, 250-pound Castro. "He posts up strong, so our guys are going to have to play strong against him."

Castro and 6-9 forward Patrick Simpson are both seniors; they have been starting at SMU since they were freshmen.

"It'll be a little strange to play Hawai'i and not go against (Haim) Shimonovich and (Phil) Martin," Castro said. "But they brought in a whole new roster of big guys so we'll have to play our game and execute."

Simpson is averaging 13.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, making SMU the only team with three players among the top 15 individual scoring leaders in the WAC.

Another returning starter from last season is 6-5 Justin Isham, who has tremendous leaping ability and is contributing 9.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

Hawai'i associate coach Bob Nash, who is in charge of scouting opponents, said: "Their first six guys are as talented as any team in the conference."

The Mustangs utilize their skills by mixing their defensive looks throughout games. Wallace said he expects to see SMU employ "everything from a full-court trap, to half-court zones, and some man-to-man."

Even before his big men started getting sick this week, Wallace said the play of Hawai'i's guards would be crucial.

"We'll need to take care of the ball and execute our offense," he said. "(SMU) will try to force you into making mistakes, but we can't fall into that."

Hawai'i point guard Deonte Tatum said: "This game could give us more chances to run up and down, so that could be fun. But we still have to set the tone and not let them dictate it."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.
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