As a battle against a talented Oakland University looms on Tuesday for No. 1-ranked MSU, the team got dealt some devastating news Sunday night. Senior guard and captain Denzel Valentine will be out for 2-3 weeks after undergoing a procedure on his knee Monday morning.
MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo said Valentine was injured in practice Sunday night after coming down on a layup attempt. Izzo said a small piece of cartilage in Valentine's left knee chipped and he underwent arthroscopic surgery to fix the issue on Monday morning.
Izzo said Valentine was "crushed" Sunday night when he learned he would require surgery to take care of the chip in his knee.
"I feel the worst for (Denzel) to be honest with you," Izzo said. "He's having such a good year and he's put so much into his senior year, but like some other guys, Mateen Cleaves, (Branden) Dawson and (Adreian) Payne in the past have had to go though this."
Izzo said he thinks the biggest loss will be rebounding. Valentine leads MSU with 8.3 rebounds per game and Izzo said he thinks Valentine is one of the best rebounding guards in the country.
Izzo said while it is a huge loss for the team, they have proved they can win games this season when he does not play well, and he will be looking to see who will step up to fill the void.
Izzo said junior transfer guard Eron Harris will start Tuesday in place of Valentine and he will be looking for Harris, as well as players like freshman guard Matt McQuaid and junior guard Alvin Ellis III to step up in Valentine's absence.
"We'll be fine, we have enough depth, we just need to find a way to win a game," Izzo said.
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