Mitch McGary progresses with Rehab
My bad if that has been posted already but I though it was important enough.
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10613873/michigan…
Mitch McGary has progressed to running on a hardcourt and next week plans to start jumping for the first time since shutting down his season with a back injury.
The Michigan sophomore still doesn't have a timetable for a return, though he does have a wish.
"Let's get back to Dallas [site of the Final Four] and we'll see," he said after Michigan beat Ohio State in a Big Ten semifinal on Saturday. "You never know what will happen."
He had been running on an underwater treadmill before finally progressing to the less forgiving hardcourts. As for the jumping, it will be slow and gradual, he said -- like everything with this rehab.
The biggest hill to climb, though, will be conditioning.
"I just have to get my legs back," he said. "It's tougher than people think it is. I have a lot of energy and I like to go all out, so it's been really difficult."
I'm torn when I read news like this. As much as I would love to see McGary back this year, I would hate to see Morgan's minutes reduced for a second year in a row.
At this point Mitch would just be depth. JMo fouled out today and it would have been nice to have Mitch coming off the bench in that situation.
If anyone loses minutes it'll be Horford but I don't see McGary getting more than 5-7 a game IF he comes back in time.
I am not. If he can come back and do 8-10 minutes a game that is Horford's minutes and god bless Horford's zen but hisplay has been poor lately. The dropoff when Morgan goes out is now palpable. Mitch would be a huge upgrade even for 20-25% of the game.
I don't like this. I don't want him to rush any part of this rehab. I'm sure the staff has everything under control, but it just makes me nervous. I couldn't care less if he doesn't play again at Michigan. I just hope that he can rehab from this and live a healthy, pain free adulthood. You don't want a nagging back the rest of your life.
at Michigan, but I feel you on not rushing things.
Don't worry about this year's Dance, Mitch, just get better in a real & sustainable way. We need you back, whole and healthy.
Thanks for the update!
Wishing him lots of patience AND determination -- rehab's a bitch. Best of luck.
It's what Michigan fans should want.
I definitely would not want to see Mitch rush back this year only to reinjure himself and ruin his future.
And if he doesn't come back this year and decides to enter the NBA draft because of his age, then I'll cheer him on.
Mitch has done everything in his power for Michigan. When he decides to go, I'll say "Thank you!"
Of course, I would love to have Mitch back next year and hope that Mitch sees that as best for Mitch, but he has been great to have on the court last year and in support on the bench this year.
This was a game where another big body could have helped to get a rebound or alter a shot at the end of the game. That is likely all we can expect. I don't see him too involved with the offense becauise he hasn't played with them. He could be a valuable asset if he can do it without hurting himself.
Even if he just stands there, is big, and knocks people down 5 times, that might help the cause . . .
March 15th, 2014 at 10:42 PM ^
No running or jumping required.
In all seriousness, he can't redshirt, so I'd love to see him at least dress/trillion in a Final Four game.
March 15th, 2014 at 11:01 PM ^
Why can't he get a medical? I realized he played part of this year, but it was only a handful of games and I thought you can still get a medical as long as you've played less than 20% or whatever of the team's games. That's what Gardner did. Has McGary gone over that? I guess it doesn't really matter since a 5th year senior McGary seems implausible.
March 16th, 2014 at 12:15 AM ^
Maybe he can but doesn't really matter, I doubt he would like to stay for 5 years so there's really no point in giving him or not giving him a redshirt.
March 16th, 2014 at 12:48 AM ^
He can redshirt. There just isn't much need, since he's not going to be here five years.
team at that point, he deserves to go pro.
It's been earned already but i say the same about all the players. I hope they all play well enough that they elevate their draft status because it means a good tournament run.
Does McGary return next year or is he leaving?
I would imagine hes coming back. When you miss that much time with an injury, the biggest question mark is how well you'll be able to play after it. He didn't exactly have a huge resume before the injury, but most of that is set aside until he can prove he can do it again.
There are a lot of big men in this draft who aren't injured and have played at near-McGary levels all season. He'd be better off rehabing all off-season, then come back to put together a solid year for the scouts to drool over. I'm sure he'd make money if he did. The way the rookie scale is set, you don't need to move up many spots for it to be worth the wait.
I heard he is leaving...
At 22 years old, his draft window is closing. Don't see many 23 year olds go high in the 1st round. Ekpe Udoh comes to mind, but look how he's turned out. I wrote a little bit about this at the link below. Sorry for the self-promote, but I feel like it's relevant.
http://sixchampdrive.blogspot.com/2014/03/2014-draft-scouting-2nd-roud-mitch.html
The crowd with a massive pop when he appears in the Final Four
BAH GAWD KING
HE'S HERE
This team is good enough as is to make a run. Take the year off and come back next year.
progress to be of much help in the tournament. As mentioned above, he might be able to give us a big body and five fouls in 5-8 minutes a game. I would be happy to have that, but I wouldn't want him to rush back and hurt himself.
but remaining on the bench until he is fully recovered. That alone would be a huge boost! Right now Morgan and Horford have his back (literally!) so no reason to rush things....he is just weeks out of spinal surgery, after all.
be able to contribute this year, if he's deemed healthy enough, then why not?
I dk. Maybe expectations being too high for what he can do, chemistry, etc. I don't think it's a good idea. This team played much better after he was shut down. He wasn't tourney MM earlier this year, and the team didn't play well.
If he comes back next year they'll be much better off than if he doesn't, but this team knows how to play together. I just don't think he'll have the timing he needs to be an asset if he came back now and the team would suffer for it.
Horford has played an entire season with this team as it is. McGary is an effort guy with skilled passing ability who is out of shape and probably doesn't have the timing for his teammates right now. I'm making a guess that this wouldn't work out well.
If we can make it to the Final Four without McGary, then we are good enough to win it all without McGary, and playing him will probably hurt us more than help us.
He's just starting to run and jump again. He's not coming back until next season. Let's just enjoy the team we have and focus on winning tomorrow.
GO BLUE!
If he makes an appearance it had better be at the end of a blow out win.
Otherwise, I think he is more valuable holding up signs with words of wisdom.
March 16th, 2014 at 12:51 AM ^
You know what his surgery was? I've never heard anything about what was actually done.
Next season! I see Mitch staying and playing well next season!
But if the best we are looking at is the outside hope that he might be able to play in the Final Four, then I suspect there is really no chance he is going to play again this season. If he was saying he could be ready to go by week 2 of the tournament I'd have some hope, but there just isn't enough time left to get him ready.
March 15th, 2014 at 10:22 PM ^