Candice Jackson has never spent more than a few days off the court during the past 10 years.
Now, the women’s basketball team’s freshman guard from Lansing Everett High School will have to spend her basketball time in physical therapy.
After starting 7 of 13 games and becoming the team’s fourth-leading scorer, an MRI Tuesday morning confirmed she has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.
Jackson will undergo surgery this morning at Ingham Regional Medical Center, then begin four to six months of rehabilitation.
If all goes as planned, Jackson will return to the starting lineup next year.
“Just not being on the court, not being able to practice, that’s the worst thing,” she said. “But I’m still staying positive. Now, I’m just going to help the team out by getting a really good GPA and by building up my upper body strength.”
The injury came with 6:11 left in the first half of the Ohio State game last week. Jackson ran down the court with the ball and an Ohio State player knocked her down while attempting to block her lay-up.
“I thought I had just twisted my knee,” she said. “But I guess I tore it completely.”
In her first 13 games, Jackson averaged 7.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
Head coach Joanne P. McCallie said Jackson won’t be easy to replace.
“Losing Candice is tough on us,” she said. “But I have a lot of confidence in all the players right now.”
Jackson played her best game of the season Nov. 26, when the Spartans pounded Chicago State 101-52.
In 29 minutes of play, Jackson tallied 26 points, including six from behind the arc against the Cougars. Those six three-pointers placed her fourth on the single-game chart and earned her a spot on the Tallahassee Democrat Seminole Classic All-Tournament Team.
Freshman forward Julie Pagel said Jackson’s confidence level about the situation is impressive.
“Candice is a big part of this team that we’re really going to miss this season,” she said. “She’s really positive. She’s more positive than I am - I’m heartbroken.”
She may be positive, but Jackson admitted the injury is still discouraging.
“It’s sad,” Jackson said. “But my teammates are being really supportive. And they still have a season to play so I just want to support them too.”
