The University of Utah basketball team will have to survive without one of its main cogs for the next few weeks.
Watkins "Boo" Singletary, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Monday to repair a small tear in the cartilage in his left knee and is expected to be out for 3-4 weeks. Singletary had a similar operation earlier in the fall, but his knee was still hindering his play and the decision was made to re-operate.Singletary was the second-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder last year for the Utes and was averaging 8.8 points and 3.8 rebounds so far this year in limited action (20 minutes per game).
"Anytime you lose your second-leading scorer and rebounder, it takes a lot out of your team," said Ute Coach Lynn Archibald.
The loss of Singletary will hurt the Utes, but not as much as in past years because of the team's depth. Jimmy Madison is the logical choice to step back into the starting role, but since he has done so well coming off the bench lately, Archibald may start Walter Watts. With Singletary gone, Reid Monson and Justin Brooks may see increased playing time.
The Utes hoped to have Singletary back in time for the opening of the WAC season, but following the operation his timetable for returning was pushed back until the second week of January.
**** Jimmy Madison, who has scored 13, 12 and 16 points off the bench in his last three games, isn't the only Ute who performs better off the bench.
Look at the cases of Josh Grant and Keith Chapman. Chapman started the first four games for Utah and averaged a mere 4.3 points per game. Meanwhile, Grant was avearaging 10.5 points per game in a reserve role.
So a switch was made at Santa Clara and Grant has started ever since. But in those four games, he has averaged just 3.5 ppg, while Chapman has increased to 7.0.
Another note about the two is that the player who has come off the bench has played more minutes than the starter in every game but one.
Now you see why coaches say it doesn't matter who starts, it's who finishes that's important.
**** It's a good thing Utah finally started winning this week. Otherwise Mitch Smith might have been spending his time during the upcoming holidays looking like Santa Claus.
You see, after the loss to Fullerton a couple of weeks ago Mitch vowed not to shave until the Utes won another game. So after losses at Santa Clara and Colorado, Smith was looking a little scraggly by the time the Utes played Weber Thursday.
But the victory allowed him to pull out the old razor again before he took the court again against Utah State Saturday.
But considering his beard growth for a week, Mitch might have gone the rest of the season without shaving and no one would have noticed.
**** Marc Amicone, the U.'s new director of marketing, thought up a little halftime promotion this year whereby one lucky fan would have the chance to win $10,000 by sinking a shot from midcourt. If a shot was made, the lucky fan would receive $5,000 and the Crimson Club would also get a $5,000 windfall from a successful shot. An insurance policy was taken out by the University to cover the cost in case someone made the shot.
It didn't take long for someone to cash in. At halftime of Saturday's Utah-USU game, a student named Mike Child, who got the lucky sticker in his program, heaved up a shot that hit nothing but net. The fan reaction was so loud that the players in the locker room wondered what was going on.
However, a few of the cheers turned to jeers when it was announced that Child was a senior at . . . Utah State.
season, but following the operation his timetable for returning was pushed back until the second week of January.
**** It's a good thing Utah finally started winning this week. Otherwise Mitch Smith might have been spending his time during the upcoming holidays looking like Santa Claus.
You see, after the loss to Fullerton a couple of weeks ago Mitch vowed not to shave until the Utes won another game. So after losses at Santa Clara and Colorado, Smith was looking a little scraggly by the time the Utes played Weber Thursday.
But the victory allowed him to pull out the old razor again before he took the court again against Utah State Saturday.
But considering his beard growth for a week, Mitch might have gone the rest of the season without shaving and no one would have noticed.