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CHAMPAIGN — By all accounts, Mike Davis was enjoying the kind of offseason that turns a solid player into a Big Ten Player of the Year candidate.
Today's development will set him back for a while.
Davis sustained a broken left ankle during a voluntary workout at Ubben Basketball Complex. Illinois coach Bruce Weber said the 6-foot-9 forward won't need surgery but is expected to be sidelined for 6 to 8 weeks.
"From what people were saying, his workouts were probably the best he's done," Weber said tonight. "You don't know for sure but everyone was saying he was doing everything you need to do. He was in (the gym Monday), he was in today, he was in over the weekend."
For Davis, who will be a junior next season, the immediate bummer is that he will have to miss the USA Basketball trials next week in Colorado Springs. Davis had been invited to compete for a spot on an elite roster headed to the World University Games. He has withdrawn from the trials.
"That's why it's unfortunate. I think he was trying to make a goal of it, go out there, play well and see what happens," Weber said. "There was no guarantee he was going to make the team, but you hope so.
"If there's a positive — and I told his dad this today — he needs to gain weight and strength. If you're looking for a silver lining, he can still get in the weightroom and get stronger (for) when he's healthy again."
A second-team All-Big Ten selection as a sophomore, Davis averaged 11.3 points and ranked second in the Big Ten in rebounding 8.1 boards per game. He doesn't have a history of ankle problems and has been one of the team's most durable contributors, playing in 68 of 69 games in two seasons at Illinois.
After the spring semester ended, Davis spent time at home in the Washington D.C. area and played in open gyms at Georgetown.
"Chester (Frazier, a Baltimore native) was getting texts from people he knows over there, saying, 'We saw Mike Davis at Georgetown, he's getting games in,'" Weber said.
The injury occurred during a voluntary workout with Frazier and Dominique Keller. Initially it was believed to be an ankle sprain but an X-ray later today revealed a fracture. Davis probably will have the left ankle in a hard cast for 2 to 3 weeks before he wears a walking boot for 3 to 4 weeks, Weber estimated.
"You want to make sure it heals right," he said.
pklee@news-gazette.com
Is there some Keller karma here? Wasn't he involved in Chester's season ending injury? Stay out of Dominique's way, men.
Posted by jturner on June 10, 2009 at 9:52 AM | Suggest Removal
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