DC stretching last year.JPG
Syracuse's Dajuan Coleman wipes perspiration from his face during the Orange's stretching exercise before a game vs. Virginia Tech. Jan. 7, 2014.
(Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com)
Syracuse, N.Y. — Asked to gauge his chances of playing college basketball this season, Syracuse center Dajuan Coleman offered this stark assessment:
"I'm 50-50 right now," he said, "because I'm not really sure how it's going to react once I start doing drills on the court and stuff."
Coleman has been rehabilitating his surgically-repaired knee since January, when the operation was performed in Syracuse. He lost a significant amount of weight, in part through a juice diet. He has performed increasingly arduous physical tasks under the supervision of SU athletic trainer Brad Pike aimed toward restoring function to the knee.
In the past couple weeks, he has graduated from pedaling a stationary bike to running on a treadmill.
"Nothing's changed. Dajuan has worked every day for eight months. He's made progress," SU coach Jim Boeheim told reporters today at the school's media day. "He's able to shoot. He's able to run on the treadmill. He's very limited. We have no real timetable right now. We're hopeful that he'll do something in November. Exactly what that will be, we really don't know."
Coleman has been allowed to run on the treadmill in the weight room and in the pool in the Melo Center's athletic training room. He is often accompanied by SU women's player Brittney Sykes, who tore her ACL during last season's NCAA Tournament. Both players said having a workout buddy helps combat the tedium of the exercises.
» Photos from SU women's media day
Coleman said his knee is no longer sore. He occasionally exhibits a limp when he lifts weights or when he runs on the treadmill. The limp, he said, surfaces only after a particularly grueling workout. His rehab, he said, is aimed now at strengthening the knee.
"In the next two weeks, they're going to try to increase my ability to do things on the court," Coleman said, "so around next week I'm going to try to do a little bit of drills to see how my knee reacts. Then I think (a decision will be made) basically from there."
Coleman said medical personnel want him to work on drills "for a good two weeks" before any determination is made about this season. If the knee swells significantly or refuses to cooperate in other ways, he will shut it down for 2014-15 and apply to the NCAA for a medical redshirt.
"I'm all right with that. I understand now that it's a process," Coleman said. "I've gotta go through this just to get back healthy."
Coleman, the hotly pursued recruit from Jamesville-DeWitt High School, has nursed knee injuries in both of his two seasons at SU. Boeheim has expressed sympathy with his center's plight. Coleman today said "I don't really let it get me down."
"I still hang out with all the teammates and I'm still here cheering them on," he said. "I never really felt sorry for myself. You just gotta work harder to bounce back."
"I think he's been dealing with it good," SU center Rakeem Christmas said. "It's been a rough time for him and everyone's been behind him, trying to push him, trying to get him through it."
Without Coleman, the Orange lacks bodies on its back line. Chino Obokoh, the reserve center, has missed a significant amount of practice this preseason with a hip injury. He practiced yesterday, but Boeheim indicated his absence has slowed his development.
Chris McCullough has worked at times at the center position during practices and Boeheim said today that SU's power forward and center spots are interchangeable. Still, the Orange would love to get Coleman back. McCullough, with his graceful, willowy frame, is more suited to play forward.
"I like to believe that everything happens for a reason," SU guard Michael Gbinije said. "I feel like when he gets back, he'll be ready to go, ready to make an impact on our team. I'm definitely a fan of DC and I hope he does recover quickly. He can definitely contribute. We can use his big physicalness. And he's a great scorer down low."
"He's a big post presence, a big body," Christmas said. "Once people run into him, they bounce off him. And he's very athletic for being so big."