Indiana head coach Tom Crean shouts to his team against Ohio State during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State beat Indiana 82-70. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
D’Angelo Russell, Yogi Ferrell
Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell, left, posts up against Indiana’s Yogi Ferrell during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Devin Davis’ sophomore season is officially over at Indiana.
On Monday, coach Tom Crean said that the 6-foot-7 forward will miss the rest of the season even though he continues to progress from a brain injury sustained Nov. 1. He was hurt when teammate Emmitt Holt hit Davis with a car. Holt was not cited in the accident, which resulted in Davis’ hospitalization, but he was suspended for four games.
“Right now, he (Davis) has got a lot of different things he’s having to deal with and continuing to build his therapy,” Crean told ESPNU for a podcast. “But he’s making progress, the doctors say he’s making progress and his attitude, like I said, is great. There’s certainly no way he’s going to play this year, obviously, but hopefully he’s going to have a full recovery and an even better understanding and maturity to be able to go next year.”
Davis returned to his hometown of Indianapolis for rehab after he was released from a hospital in Bloomington, Indiana. When Davis began his rehab, Crean left the door open for a possible return this season. That is not going to happen.
No. 22 Indiana (15-5, 4-2 Big Ten) has somehow managed to overcome the injury and three early-season suspensions to stay in contention for the conference title.
Things could soon get even trickier.
With junior forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea expected to be sidelined until at least mid-February because of a right knee injury, the Hoosiers (15-5, 4-2 Big Ten) were dealt another blow in Sunday’s loss at Ohio State.
Starting guard Robert Johnson left during the first half of the game with what appeared to be a left knee injury. While he returned about midway through the second half, the Hoosiers don’t know if Johnson will be able to play Wednesday night at Purdue. Johnson is averaging 9.2 points and 3.6 rebounds. His loss would be yet another blow to a team that is already undersized and stretched for depth.
And the cause of Johnson’s injury was distressing, too.
“When he fell, there was actually it looked like a red folder or papers that were laying on the floor close enough to the court that he slipped on, that were on the baseline by the cheerleaders,” Crean said during Monday’s weekly Big Ten conference call. “It’s one of those inadvertent things you hope never happens, but it did and, and it was that they were just laying there as he finished his layup.”
He added: “I don’t think it’s anything that’s going to be long-lasting, but there’s still nothing that says it’s going to be OK for this game (Purdue), either.”
If Johnson can’t go, the likely starter would be junior guard Nick Zeisloft, a 3-point shooting specialist who transferred to Indiana from Illinois State during the summer. Zeisloft has made five starts this season, is averaging 6.0 points and replaced Johnson to start the second half Sunday.