Friday, February 18, 2011
Posted: 4:21 p.m.
By Reuben Frank
CSNPhilly.com
They bumped into each other, exactly like two guys bump into each other all the time during basketball practice.
This time, the seemingly minor collision between Temple teammates Micheal Eric and Khalif Wyatt had major ramifications.
Mike said he heard something pop, junior guard Ramone Moore said.
Eric, a tough rebounding junior forward, had suffered a fractured right patella during practice Tuesday and is out for the year.
We werent going too hard because a lot of guys are banged up, but it was a freak accident, Moore said. Khalif and Mike kind of ran into each other. I thought at first it was a banged knee, but they said (on Wednesday) it was a broken kneecap. Its unfortunate. Were going to miss him a lot.
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Before he got hurt, Eric was one of only three Owls to start every game for Temple. He averaged 7.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, ranking fourth in scoring, second in rebounds and tied for first with Lavoy Allen in blocks. In 54 games at Temple, Eric has registered 421 points, 290 rebounds and 70 blocks.
Temple, 20-5 and ranked No. 23 in the latest AP poll, beat Richmond 73-53 Thursday night at the Liacouras Center in its first game without Eric.
Mike has been an important part of our team this year, hes been getting better each and every game, and its bad when you lose someone like that, said Moore, whos averaging 24 points in his last three games. But weve got to move on and try to encourage him to get better and get back on the court next year.
At 6-foot-10, Eric is one of only two Owls in coach Fran Dunphys rotation taller than 6-6. The other is Allen, the 6-9 all-conference forward, who returned to action Thursday after missing a win at Dayton with a sprained ankle.
With Eric out, Dunphy will start 6-6 sophomore Rahlir Jefferson, who is more of a perimeter player than Eric but still a physical presence and willing rebounder. In the last three games, playing in place of either Allen or Eric, Jefferson has 19 points, 19 rebounds and four blocks.
Its going to be tough, Moore said. At times, were going to have to go small, and hopefully Lavoy doesnt get into too much foul trouble and we have to go small with Scootie (Randall, 6-6 forward) and Rahlir at the four and the five, but I think Rahlir has held his own the last two games. Hes been getting key blocks and doing a great job. ... Its going to be hard to replace (Eric), but if we all do our jobs, well be good.
Dunphy said his initial concern after learning the extend of Erics injury wasnt for the team, it was for Eric, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, who spent two years attending the Church Farm School in Exton.
When these kinds of things happen, the first concern you have is for the guy, Dunphy said. Mike is such a good man and has worked so hard to get where he is, so when you get the word that the doctor says you have a fractured patella and youre out for the season, thats pretty devastating for a young guy.
You dont worry that much about the team. The team has a resilience about them, and theyll come together and theyll form this support system with one another and theyll be OK. But you worry about the kid, and in this case were worried about Mike. Hell be OK, its just a shame he has to miss the rest of the season.
Well still be as solid as we can be, but youre missing a 6-10 big body out there. His presence were missing. His personality were missing. ... Lavoy is such a rock back there defensively, and we cant play too many minutes without him.
Temple, 10-2 and in second place in the Atlantic 10 Conference, is 17-3 in its last 20 games and has won seven straight games since an 11-point loss at first-place Xavier in late January.
The Owls seek their 21st consecutive home win when they face St. Joes at the Liacouras Center at 4 p.m. Sunday. Then its off to Durham, N.C., for a nationally televised game against No. 2 Duke on Wednesday at Cameron Indoor.
Temple finishes its regular-season conference slate against George Washington, U. Mass and La Salle.
Dunphy knows it wont be easy to maintain this level of play without Eric, but hes confident his team will find a way.
Teams are resilient if theyre good and theyre tough and theyre intelligent, and I think we have some real good ingredients with this group, and they say, You know what? This guys out, somebody else has to pick it up and take his place.
One of the things you try to guard against is that (Eric) is not going to be playing, and when youre not playing you dont necessarily feel as much of the group, so well have to massage that to make sure he knows how important he is and to encourage all those guys who are getting his minutes.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com