[McDunkin]

It’s official.  USC point guard and best returning player Jio Fontan will miss the entire 2011-12 season with a torn ACL in his left knee suffered during an exhibition game in Brazil earlier this week.  Fontan was flown back to the US for an MRI, but word leaking out of the USC camp all week indicated that this was a rather concerning injury rather than a simple sprain.  Fontan was to be the Trojans’ only returning starter from a team that snuck into the NCAA Tournament as a member of the inaugural First Four, and as the captain and floor leader, he was going to be relied upon to shoulder much of the responsibility in leading a young team.  Head coach Kevin O’Neill will now have to hope that incoming freshman guard Alexis Moore, a three-star player from nearby Long Beach, will be up to the task.  The only possible silver lining Trojan fans can draw from this is that next year’s team will develop considerable experience on the fly so that when Fontan hopefully returns in 2012-13, USC will be in a much better position to make another run at the postseason.

Duke’s next great freshman made his debut in China this week during the Blue Devils’ exhibition tour, and although he did not manage to get into a chair-throwing brawl, he had his ups and downs.  In two exhibitions against the Chinese junior national team, Austin Rivers had 18 points (8-15 FG) and five assists in a 77-64 victory Wednesday, followed by a 12-point (5-16 FG), seven-turnover performance in a 76-66 victory on Thursday.  Duke won both games despite a herculean effort on the part of the Chinese referees (yes, we may have discovered the one place in the world…) — in their two games, China shot 72 free throws to a Duke total of 25, nearly a 3:1 ratio (you may recall that Georgetown got a little perturbed by a similar officiating pattern in its game on Wednesday).  Notwithstanding the choppy play of Rivers, it has been Duke’s junior forward, Ryan Kelly, who has looked fantastic thus far.  Kelly has averaged 17/11 while shooting a scorching 75% from the floor in the two games.  Considering that China has significant size in its lineup and that the frontcourt represents Mike Krzyzewski’s greatest area of concern heading into next season, Kelly’s play is tremendous news for Duke fans worldwide.

http://rushthecourt.net/

[providencefriars1Participant]

Sad news for Fontan, I thought he would be one of the best players in the Pac-12 this year. Hopefully he will be back next year. This also might eliminate all of USC’s NIT hope unless the 7 footer DeWayne Denmon goes off.

[providencefriars1Participant]

Sad news for Fontan, I thought he would be one of the best players in the Pac-12 this year. Hopefully he will be back next year. This also might eliminate all of USC’s NIT hope unless the 7 footer DeWayne Denmon goes off.

[providencefriars1Participant]

Sad news for Fontan, I thought he would be one of the best players in the Pac-12 this year. Hopefully he will be back next year. This also might eliminate all of USC’s NIT hope unless the 7 footer DeWayne Denmon goes off.

[Johnny Chill]

I’m not sure if there is a most improve player award in college, but the jump from Sophomore year to Junior year is suppose to be when a player makes a major improvement.

I expect Kelly to be that guy that makes the most improvement in college basketball this coming season.

 

[Johnny Chill]

I’m not sure if there is a most improve player award in college, but the jump from Sophomore year to Junior year is suppose to be when a player makes a major improvement.

I expect Kelly to be that guy that makes the most improvement in college basketball this coming season.

 

[Johnny Chill]

I’m not sure if there is a most improve player award in college, but the jump from Sophomore year to Junior year is suppose to be when a player makes a major improvement.

I expect Kelly to be that guy that makes the most improvement in college basketball this coming season.

 

[llperez]

fontan was usc’s best player and i already had them near the bottom of the pac 12 with him, so without him its gonna be pretty bad in trojan land.

[llperez]

fontan was usc’s best player and i already had them near the bottom of the pac 12 with him, so without him its gonna be pretty bad in trojan land.

[llperez]

fontan was usc’s best player and i already had them near the bottom of the pac 12 with him, so without him its gonna be pretty bad in trojan land.

[Author]

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