Final Four teams not immune to injuries

By Mark Stewart

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

(MCT)

For Raymar Morgan, the hits just kept coming.

Trouble for the Michigan State junior started with a bout with the flu. But instead of going away after a few days, that illness sparked an upper-respiratory problem that led to walking pneumonia and then mononucleosis.

From about mid-January to about mid-February, one of the Big Ten's best players was a shell of himself, but Morgan proclaimed that he was back to his old self before the NCAA tournament. And just on cue, he caught a break.

Too bad it was to his nose.

"It's been incredible what he's gone through," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said.

Injuries are part of any game and the teams that will play in the Final Four Saturday evening at Ford Field in Detroit have not been immune.

Connecticut has been hit the hardest, losing junior guard Jerome Dyson, its second-leading scorer, to a season-ending knee injury on Feb. 11.

Ty Lawson's jammed right toe gave Tar Heels nation a reason to fret until he returned after a three-game absence and led North Carolina to a second-round victory over Louisiana State.

And Villanova's Dwayne Anderson, one of the team's most experienced players, missed the first seven games of the season because of a stress fracture in his foot.

Still, none of the remaining teams has endured as much as Michigan State. Freshman forward Delvon Roe, a highly regarded recruit, was slow to round into form after two knee surgeries within nine months, the latter coming in August. Senior Goran Suton, the Big Ten's top returning rebounder, missed six games early in the season with a knee injury.

Both of those players appear to have recovered from their injuries. The jury is still out on Morgan, who has worked his way back into the starting lineup but is averaging just 15 minutes per game in the tournament.

Since a 16-point, five-rebound outing against Robert Morris in the first-round of the tournament, Morgan's playing time has progressively decreased. He played just 10 minutes in the Spartans' 12-point victory over Louisville in the regional final.

He is averaging 5.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in the tournament. Last season, he led the Spartans in scoring (14.0 ppg) and was second in rebounding (6.1).

"After coming back and playing pretty well in some games, he struggled a little bit lately. But I still know how good he is," Izzo said. "And I still think he could be one of the surprise players in this tournament."

Morgan could figure prominently when the Spartans (30-6) face Connecticut (31-4) at 5:07 p.m. Saturday. The Huskies boast a powerful front line and Morgan will be needed to help against either All-Big East performer Jeff Adrien or Stanley Robinson, one of the team's hottest players.

And if that wasn't enough for Morgan to think about, there is his nose, which was broken in the regional semifinal against Kansas. The plan was for him to wear a mask during the Louisville game, but he wasn't comfortable with it and took it off after play began.

Perhaps his difficulties adjusting to playing with a broken nose _ besides the pain, it's tougher to breathe _ played into Morgan's 10-minute, four-foul effort against the Cardinals, but it doesn't explain his struggles for much of the rest of the tournament.

Before the first round, he said his health was fine.

"I'm back at 100 percent. I'm feeling well," he said last week. "My strength is back. It's just a matter of me getting my timing down, and I think that's back, so I am feeling all right."

Still, the experience took a lot out of him.

At his best, Morgan is a tough defender and rebounder with a nice mid-range game. When he's not 100 percent, it seems that his defense suffers the most, as he is prone to foul trouble.

Try as he might, he hasn't been the same player since he recovered from his illness.

Before Morgan got sick, he scored 20 points or more six times and opened the Big Ten season with three straight double-doubles in scoring and rebounding. Since his return, he has scored in double figures just three times in 12 games, although he showed signs of a breaking out in the final three games of the regular season, when he averaged 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

But that didn't carry over to the NCAA tournament. With the exception of the 16-point showing in the opening round, he has been largely ineffective.

Entering play Saturday, six of his teammates are getting more playing time.

The Spartans have gotten by, in part, because forward Draymond Green has played beyond his years. But how many times can Izzo go to the well and have the freshman deliver, especially against a team as physically mature as the Huskies?

The coach has to be hoping that one of his best players is ready to remind folks of what he can do.

"We need Ray more still," Izzo said. "He's still got a lot to give."

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