| | TUCSON, Ariz. -- Loren Woods, the 7-foot-1 center for
fourth-ranked Arizona, will be out at least two more weeks
with a back injury that already has sidelined him for two games.
That would mean Woods won't return until the first game of the NCAA Tournament at the earliest.
Trainer Ed Orr said Saturday that Woods, Arizona's leading
scorer at 15.6 points per game, will miss 2-4 weeks with a
compression injury to the disc between the 12th thoracic and first
lumbar vertebrae.
"We have a lot of time to get me ready," Woods said.
"Realistically, the earliest would be the NCAA tournament."
Coach Lute Olson was more cautious.
"I would say if it's the start of the tournament, we'd be as
happy as we could be," Olson said.
Woods' injury is the latest in a remarkable string of setbacks
for the Wildcats.
Guard Ruben Douglas quit when he lost his starting job, backup
point guard Lamont Frazier had medical and academic problems and
has applied for a medical redshirt year, forward Eugene Edgerson
decided not to play so as to concentrate on getting his teaching
degree, center Robertas Javtokas quit to go back to Lithuania and
Jefferson broke his foot in the second Pac-10 game.
Also, former Indiana star Luke Recker, who transferred to
Arizona and would have played next season and practiced with the
Wildcats this year, transferred to Iowa to be closer to his
girlfriend, who was partially paralyzed in a car crash.
"It's the most unbelievable year that I've had to face that
way," Olson said.
Woods, a junior transfer from Wake Forest, leads the Pac-10 in
blocked shots at 3.9 per game. He tied an NCAA record with 14
blocks against Oregon.
Doctors believe the injury occurred when Woods landed awkwardly
after attempting to block a shot in Arizona's 73-50 victory at
Washington State on Feb. 19.
Orr said it would take 4 to 6 weeks from the time of injury for the
problem to heal. Doctors don't expect Woods to have any long-term
problems, but the injury could affect his decision on whether to
skip his senior season to enter the NBA.
"If I can't come back to the tournament and we lost in the
second round, it is an easy decision," Woods said. "If I come
back for the tournament and we make a run for the national
championship, then I have a decision to make."
Woods played in the Feb. 17 game against USC, but missed the
UCLA game two days later and Saturday's home game against Arizona
State.
"I don't know when it happened," Woods said. "I know after
the USC game I wasn't going to play in the UCLA game. After the USC
game, it was horrible. I knew I had to have some tests taken."
Initially, doctors thought there might be a hairline fracture of
the spine, which would have been much more serious.
"We were praying it wasn't that," Woods said.
Arizona has four Pac-10 games remaining. The Wildcats play at
Oregon State and Oregon next week, then return home for a March 9
showdown against No. 1 Stanford and the regular-season finale March
11 against California.
The Wildcats, down to six scholarship players the last two
games, will be bolstered by the return of Jefferson next week.
Jefferson broke his right foot Jan. 8 against Stanford.
Meanwhile, Woods plans to do all he can to get back in a hurry.
"I will drink milk to get my calcium down there," he said.
| |
ALSO SEE
No. 4 Arizona, minus Woods, survives scare from Sun Devils
 |
