Thomas to miss remainder of season

The Tigers will be without freshman guard Adonis Thomas for the remainder of the season, Head Coach Josh Pastner announced Tuesday.

Thomas, who suffered an ankle injury in practice on Jan. 13, sat out Saturday's game against Houston. An MRI showed that Thomas is suffering from a peroneal tendon retinaculum in his left ankle. He will undergo surgery to repair the torn cartilage, a minor procedure, but one that will effectively rule him out for the rest of the season.

"Basically, on the outside, if you cut yourself, you would put a little Neosporin and a Band-Aid on it and eventually the cut goes away and heals on its own," Pastner said. "It's like a cut on the inside, because there's a flap of cartilage, and the only way to get it back is to put a Band-Aid on it."

Thomas' injury is a blow to a Tiger team that was beginning to get on a roll. The Tigers have won their last six games, and have started out conference play 3-0, with victories against UAB, Southern Miss. and Houston. Thomas was the third-leading scorer on the team, averaging 9.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game before picking up his injury.

"We went to the doctors last night, with Adonis' parents and  doctors and sat there and discussed all the information and the original plan was to take a couple days after Wednesday's game to make a decision," Pastner said. "But we all agreed last night that it was best to get the procedure done now.

"This isn't like an elbow, or a shoulder. In basketball, your wheels are your most important things. You've got to have your knees, your elbows, your ankles, those are your prized possessions. It was just something where we were concerned, and I was concerned. It's a minor thing, but unfortunately it's an awkward thing how he fell and we'll get the procedure done and he'll be better than new once we get the procedure done."

Pastner said other players will have to pick up the slack.

"Other guys on the team, you know, will just have to step up," he said. "No other option. Guys got to do the job."

Senior forwards Wesley Witherspoon and D.J. Stephens will likely see increased minutes as Pastner tries to compensate for losing Thomas. Both players had settled into reserve roles, but with Thomas out, they and other bench players will have to take on more responsibility.

"Everyone's in the rotation, basically," Pastner said. "Everyone's got to be ready, and they've got to get the job done."

Thomas said he became emotional when he was told he would have to have surgery to repair his ankle.

"Once I heard, I just broke down," he said. "I couldn't handle it that I couldn't finish my first season as a college basketball player. I mean, we're barely into conference play, so I can't even finish conference play, conference tournament. If we even make it to the (NCAA) tournament, I won't even be able to experience that being on the court. But I've got faith in these guys. I just want to stay positive and help the guys out in all the ways I can, and I'm a part of the team still so there's a lot of things I've still got to do. As small as the injury was, I was just thinking, ‘why me?' I didn't think it would need surgery, but that's the way it went. "

While he will likely miss the rest of the season, there is still a chance Thomas could return for the NCAA tournament if his rehabilitation goes well.

"The doctors said it takes about three months," Pastner said. "But if Adonis' body heals properly and he aggressively rehabs, you never know. But again, that will be determined on how he heals and we won't rush him back. It's got to be 100 percent."

Thomas said that if the opportunity arises, he'd like to return to play this season.

"If I rehab hard and aggressive like I'm supposed to, I could come back as soon as possible, and if I do it's one thing I would want to do," he said. "The team is going to be great, but I always want to make an impact in some kind of way, so if I'm able to come back 100 percent, then I'll come back."

Senior guard Charles Carmouche will also sit out tonight's game against Central Florida while recovering from sore knees. He has sat out the last three games. Pastner said he is practicing a bit, but is still in pain.