Freshman guard Gary Harris holds his arm in pain while watching from the bench Nov. 20 at Breslin Center. Harris left the game in the first half because of an injury and watched as MSU beat Boise State. Adam Toolin/The State News
The biggest scare the MSU men’s basketball team (3-1) received Tuesday wasn’t from a closer-than-expected game against Boise State (3-1), but from a shoulder injury to star freshman guard Gary Harris in the game’s opening minute.
The team announced that an x-ray and MRI today revealed Harris suffered a left shoulder sprain that will leave him out of the Spartans’ lineup for 2-3 weeks.
“It’s a shame,” head coach Tom Izzo said in the release. “Gary was playing so well, and then he goes down with a freak injury.”
The initial fears were Harris’ injury might be much worse.
After being hit on a moving screen, Izzo said after the game Harris would be out for a while and considered a sprain the best-case scenario.
“The worst case scenario is there’s more and he’s out a lot, lot, lot, lot, lot longer,” Izzo said following the game.
Harris was averaging 16 points per game and leading the team in scoring heading into Tuesday’s game.
Missing two to three weeks puts Harris on pace to miss four to six games, yet despite the freshman’s importance, Izzo said the team will make sure Harris is fully healthy and ready to return once he hits the floor.
“We need to get him back as soon as his injury allows, but he is one of our toughest players,” Izzo said in the release.
“I know he’ll work as hard as he can on the rehab so that he can get back on the court.”
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