Men's Basketball Suffers Another Long Term Injury

Injuries continue to pile up for the Western Illinois men's basketball squad

MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois men's basketball program has lost another member of its team to a potentially season-ending injury in junior forward Tate Stensgaard.

Stensgaard injured his wrist in this past Sunday's game versus North Dakota State. He had started every game this season while averaging 4.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and shooting a team-best 56.1 percent from the field.

"Injuries are an unfortunate part of athletics and the number of season-ending injuries we've had this year has definitely had an impact on our team," said head coach Billy Wright. "With that said, we will continue to focus on the things that we can control and work hard to get better every day. The players who are healthy have done a great job with their effort and attitude regardless of the circumstances."

Sophomore forward Mike Miklusak, who had started 11 of the team's first 15 games before getting hurt, injured his knee in WIU's game against Oral Roberts on Jan. 10. Miklusak averaged 6.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and had 14 three-pointers on the season.

Both Stensgaard and Miklusak averaged more than 20 minutes per game and have a chance to return to the court at the end of the regular season or The Summit League tournament.

Before the 2014-15 season began WIU lost two of its incoming freshmen to year-long injuries or illness in Jalen Morgan and Kendall Rollins. Morgan injured his knee during a preseason practice while Rollins was forced to miss the entire year due to an undisclosed illness.

Senior guard Remy Roberts-Burnett also missed significant time due to a head injury. The only remaining member of the 2012-13 Summit League championship team was injured in WIU's game at Akron. He missed more than a month of action from the beginning of December to the middle of January.

"We have embraced the concept of 'Next Man Up' which has allowed our younger players to get additional in-game experience as we work through this difficult time," concluded Wright.

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Players Mentioned

#24 Remy Roberts-Burnett: G; 6' 0"; Senior; West

#32 Tate Stensgaard: F; 6' 8"; Junior; Stevens / Sheridan

#30 Mike Miklusak: F; 6' 6"; Sophomore; Lake Central

#5 Kendall Rollins: F; 6' 7"; Freshman; Pike

#22 Jalen Morgan: F; 6' 8"; Freshman; Pike

Players Mentioned

#24 Remy Roberts-Burnett
: 6' 0"; Senior; West
: G

#32 Tate Stensgaard
: 6' 8"; Junior; Stevens / Sheridan
: F

#30 Mike Miklusak
: 6' 6"; Sophomore; Lake Central
: F

#5 Kendall Rollins
: 6' 7"; Freshman; Pike
: F

#22 Jalen Morgan
: 6' 8"; Freshman; Pike
: F