MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois men's basketball head coach Jim Molinari and his Leatherneck squad will be short-handed again heading into the Thursday night (Dec. 30) Summit League game at IUPUI. The third-year head coach announced that sophomore center David Gebru (Seattle, Wash.) will miss the remainder of the 2010-11 season after suffering a knee injury earlier this month. That makes six Leathernecks who will miss playing time due to an injury.
"Since the five-point loss at 14th-ranked Missouri (the third game of the season) we have not had a full squad," said Molinari. "The latest is David Gebru, who will miss the rest of the year with his knee... Injuries are part of the game, but in my 30 years of coaching at the Division I level I have never been around a team that has lost six key players, and five at one time."
Gebru, who will undergo surgery in January, was averaging 6.3 points and 2.9 rebounds with seven blocked shots in nine games played. He made four starts this season, and was shooting a team-leading 62.5 percent from the field (20-of-32). In his last two starts prior to the injury, he recorded 13 points and five rebounds in each contest (Oral Roberts and Centenary).
Junior forward Emeka Okafor, Jr. (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) will also not play against IUPUI either after suffering a sprained ankle. The frontline also took a hit when sophomore center Abdou Niang (Dakar, Senegal) fractured his thumb in practice this week. He's listed as day-to-day, but doubtful for the Summit League contest against the Jaguars. Okafor had played in all 11 games, averaging nearly four rebounds. Niang has played in seven games and grabbed 10 rebounds this season.
Junior guard Ceola Clark III (Gurnee, Ill.) was averaging 10.7 points prior to suffering a toe injury four weeks ago (vs. Oral Roberts). The preseason First Team All-Summit League guard continues to lead the Leathernecks with 30 assists and 14 steals. Clark will miss his sixth game of the season, sitting out the IUPUI game, and will be re-evaluated in the next week.
Redshirt-freshman guard Billy Molinari (Peoria, Ill.) suffered a foot injury during the season-opener against St. Francis, and has not played since. He attempted to practice, but has not made enough progress to return.
Junior forward Kaimarr Price (Phoenix, Ariz.) missed the first two Summit League games earlier this month due to an injury, but has since returned to action. He has averaged 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds the last two games.
Despite all the injuries, coach Molinari is keeping optimistic about the final outcome.
"Without a doubt these injuries to key players have definitely slowed our progress here in year three. But we are looking at this as an opportunity for others to gain valuable playing experience, so when everyone who is expected to return does we will be a much tougher team."
