– The Cards basketball team will have to prepare for the road ahead without Gorgui Dieng
We learned yesterday that Gorgui Dieng did, in fact, suffer a fracture to the scaphoid bone in his left wrist, which will require surgery today and keep him on the bench for 4-6 weeks. The carpal fracture is a problematic injury, and the healing process is an unpredictable one because it’s at such an underserved point in the circulatory system. I have experienced this injury first hand. And even when the cast comes off and the bone is mended it still requires several weeks of rehab for the wrist to become fully stable. So a realistic return date would be somewhere around the week of January 1st.
So what does this mean for the basketball team? As much as Siva and Smith are critical to this teams ultimate success, Dieng is just as important for his ability to make a difference in the paint at both ends. He scores with consistency on one end, then protects the other with fierceness. Gorgui who is considered to be one of the best shot blockers in the nation has 194 career rejections. Our Cards allowed their conference opponents to make just 42.7 percent of their 2’s last season and Gorgui was a huge part of that swatting away about 10 percent of the 2’s that opponents attempted during his minutes. And he played more than 80 percent of the available minutes at his position in 2011-12, meaning opponents faced a formidable obstacle to their offense more than 80 percent of the time.
Now the Cards will face the challenge of filling this spot and the responsibility will be given to Stephan Van Treese (2 PPG, 2.5 RPG) and Zach Price (1 PPG, 1.6 RPG), although Pitino may at times elect to go small with Montrezl Harrell (6.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG) and Chane Behanan (8.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG). This will also change the defensive habits of Russ Smith And Peyton Siva. They will no longer be able to take the chances they did in the back-court while knowing they had Gorgui behind them to bail them out when needed. I fully expect the defensive game planning to change as well. Expect to see more zone and less man-to-man. I do think the guys filling in are more than capable. But you don’t replace one of your best players and a back-up plan is never as solid as the original one. The one thing looming in the back of the minds of most Cards fans including myself is that Dec 29th match-up against UK. With Gorgui in the line-up it gave us an advantage but facing it without him looks to become more of a toss up game. But hey they all seem to end up that way so really nothing new. And with Gorgui expected back when Big East play starts I still think we end up Big East Champions and with a 1 or 2 seed to start the Madness.
Coach Pitino: “I don’t want to overhype my players,” “But he’s one of the best big men in the country.”
It really sucks to lose a player to injury and especially one as special as Gorgui. He is more than just a basketball player. He means so much more to this team and to this program. There isn’t a college basketball fan among us that won’t miss his cheerfulness and his genuine love for the game. The young man is having surgery today and I know from experience that its not a fun one. Lets all keep Gorgui in our prayers and hope for a speedy recovery. Get will soon Gorgui!
