Picked second in the MAAC coaches' poll after their CBI championship and returning experience, Siena has fallen victim to the injury bug after it was announced that senior center Imoh Silas would miss the 2014-15 season with a torn ACL.
The 6-9 Nigerian, who blocked a team-best 63 shots in the Saints' 20-18 season last year, will undergo surgery on Friday after an MRI revealed the tear in his anterior cruciate ligament.
"Imoh's our family member, and he has another year left to play," head coach Jimmy Patsos commented in a release issued by Siena's athletic communications office. "Hopefully he comes back, but that's up to him. He graduates in May. I'd certainly welcome him back."
Last season, Silas averaged 3.8 points and 4.7 rebounds as one of the mainstays in a Siena front line featuring fellow burgeoning stars in Lavon Long and Brett Bisping, now entering their sophomore and junior campaigns, respectively. The Albany Times Union's Mark Singelais reports that Silas was expected to have more of a reserve role this season behind second-year forward Javion Ogunyemi, and with the senior now out of the picture, the void in minutes could end up being filled by incoming freshman Willem Brandwijk, or sophomore Michael Wolfe, whom Patsos had hoped to redshirt in order to allow the Tennessee native become better acclimated to his system. Silas was praised by Patsos for being a "great character guy."
"He givs us toughness and rebounding," the coach continued on about his fallen center. "He won some games for us. He singlehandedly won that Cornell game, and that was a big turnaround for us. You put in perspective what he's done, and everyone on campus loves him. We still have our starting five, but we didn't have anyone else like him. Now somebody else has to step up."
This is too bad. I hope he has a full recovery and plays next year.
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