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Javon Bess could be sidelined again with foot injury

February 11, 2015
<p>Freshman forward Javon Bess walks down the court Feb. 7, 2015, during the game against Illinois at Breslin Center. The Spartans were defeated by the Fighting Illini, 59-54. Erin Hampton/The State News</p>

Freshman forward Javon Bess walks down the court Feb. 7, 2015, during the game against Illinois at Breslin Center. The Spartans were defeated by the Fighting Illini, 59-54. Erin Hampton/The State News

Photo by Erin Hampton | The State News

Heading into the season, men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo had high hopes for freshman forward Javon Bess. Those hopes may have to be put on hold for another year.

Pain in the right foot that Bess had previously broken is threatening to end his season.

“But it just doesn’t look like it’s healed and it doesn’t seem right,” Izzo said. “He’s got pain there and they’re trying to do everything they can to find out ... but I don’t like where it’s headed and he’s definitely gonna be out for a couple of weeks and that is almost 100 percent for sure.”

Izzo said more information will be known later this week when the team returns from its Tuesday night matchup with Northwestern.

Bess made his first start Jan. 17 at Maryland, but lingering injury issues pushed him to a smaller role over the next few games. Bess was averaging 12.3 minutes, 2.7 points, and 2.9 rebounds per game. He saw action in just 12 of the team’s 24 games. Perhaps more important than any of his numbers, Bess played the game with a bit of an edge, something Izzo thinks the team lacks.

“So there’s a kid I told you from day one was starting and he was a kid that brought some toughness to a team that maybe doesn’t have as much of that,” Izzo said. “And he knows how to play.”

There will be no MRI for Bess because he already has a screw in his foot but X-rays and bone scans are options.

Obtaining a medical redshirt appears to be out of the question, primarily because of the number of games Bess has played and the timing of the injury.

Izzo has seen his fair share of injuries. Look no further than senior forward Branden Dawson. How a player handles the injury, however, is the key.

“What you don’t know is every kid responds differently,” Izzo said. “Some it takes six weeks, we waited an extra week. Some it depends on how their gait is and the way they walk. What I didn’t like is I never felt – he always seemed to be favoring it. Sometimes when you do that you start walking differently and it creates a problem. I don’t see any long-term effect, if you say long-term a career like Russell’s (Byrd).  But I definitely see a short-term effect.”

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