Spring Break
INJURY: DeLuca ruled out of action
Star forward Steve DeLuca '08 is out for the rest of the semester
by Jeffrey Pickette
Senior writer
Sports | 12/4/07
Posted online at 11:01 PM EST on 12/3/07
/ Last updated at 8:45 PM EST on 12/3/07
Men's basketball star forward Steve DeLuca '08, who has been sidelined for much of the season with lower back and right hamstring injuries, will miss at least the team's final four games this semester, head coach Brian Meehan said last Saturday.
The team originally hoped to have DeLuca, a first-team all-University Athletic Association selection last season who has led the Judges in scoring each of the past two years, return before last Saturday's key tilt with top-ranked and defending NCAA champion Amherst College.
Meehan, however, suggested that DeLuca could remain sidelined for the start of University Athletic Association play next semester.
"It's a shame that what was a fairly simple injury developed into this end-of-season type of injury," Meehan said.
DeLuca originally injured his plantar fasciitis, the band of tissue that extends from the heel to the toe, after the Judges returned from a summer trip to Italy.
Meehan said DeLuca's current back and hamstring ailments came after DeLuca struggled to adjust to orthotics placed in his shoes.
After seeing limited time during the season-opening Tip-Off Tournament, DeLuca has missed the team's last four games and said the pain has held him out of practice and slowed his rehabilitation.
"It's real frustrating. I didn't expect to be out this long," DeLuca said after last Tuesday's 72-57 win over Babson College. "At times we're playing really well, and at times we're not, so I wish I was out there to help my guys out."
Last Saturday, Meehan classified DeLuca's injury situation as a "medical mystery."
"I don't have any idea how this could happen," Meehan said. "[DeLuca] had a foot injury that was completely healed, and somehow, some way in the process his back has gone out. No one can explain to us how that could possibly happen."
Meehan, however, was quick to point out that DeLuca himself is not to blame for the deterioration of his injury situation.
"He's a hard-working kid who has never had a history with injuries," Meehan said. "He's doing everything he [can] possibly do."
The team originally hoped to have DeLuca, a first-team all-University Athletic Association selection last season who has led the Judges in scoring each of the past two years, return before last Saturday's key tilt with top-ranked and defending NCAA champion Amherst College.
Meehan, however, suggested that DeLuca could remain sidelined for the start of University Athletic Association play next semester.
"It's a shame that what was a fairly simple injury developed into this end-of-season type of injury," Meehan said.
DeLuca originally injured his plantar fasciitis, the band of tissue that extends from the heel to the toe, after the Judges returned from a summer trip to Italy.
Meehan said DeLuca's current back and hamstring ailments came after DeLuca struggled to adjust to orthotics placed in his shoes.
After seeing limited time during the season-opening Tip-Off Tournament, DeLuca has missed the team's last four games and said the pain has held him out of practice and slowed his rehabilitation.
"It's real frustrating. I didn't expect to be out this long," DeLuca said after last Tuesday's 72-57 win over Babson College. "At times we're playing really well, and at times we're not, so I wish I was out there to help my guys out."
Last Saturday, Meehan classified DeLuca's injury situation as a "medical mystery."
"I don't have any idea how this could happen," Meehan said. "[DeLuca] had a foot injury that was completely healed, and somehow, some way in the process his back has gone out. No one can explain to us how that could possibly happen."
Meehan, however, was quick to point out that DeLuca himself is not to blame for the deterioration of his injury situation.
"He's a hard-working kid who has never had a history with injuries," Meehan said. "He's doing everything he [can] possibly do."
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