St. John's University Athletics
Mason Jr. To Miss Three Additional Weeks While Rehabilitating Hamstring
12/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2009
QUEENS, N.Y. - Red Storm redshirt senior Anthony Mason Jr.'s highly-anticipated return to the court for the 2009-10 season will be slightly delayed even further, as head coach Norm Roberts announced on Wednesday that the swingman will miss the next three weeks while continuing to recover from a hamstring injury.
Mason Jr. was examined on Monday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. An ultrasound scan revealed that the hamstring, which was injured in September and then re-aggravated on Oct. 16, is not yet fully healed.
"We're disappointed for Anthony, because we know he wants to be out there. We have to give him time to recover so when he joins us on the court, he'll be 100 percent," said Roberts. "We'll obviously be very happy and excited to get Anthony back. He is such a versatile scorer, and makes our team that much deeper."
The Red Storm medical staff brought Mason Jr. along slowly since initially injuring the hamstring in early September, prior to St. John's 4-0 trip to Canada over Labor Day Weekend. Mason Jr. participated in low-impact weight training, conditioning exercises and physical therapy while recuperating until cleared by St. John's medical staff. After re-injuring the hamstring in October, orthopedist Answorth Allen, M.D., team doctor to the Red Storm and the New York Knicks of the NBA, re-examined Mason Jr. and recommended four to six more weeks of rehabilitation and strengthening exercises.
A season ago in 2008-09, after scoring six points in St. John's season-opening win over LIU (Nov. 14), Mason Jr. put forward a 24-point effort against Cornell (Nov. 17) and netted 12 points against Boston College (Nov. 18), shooting 44.4 percent from the field across the two latter contests as part of the NIT Season Tip-Off. It was announced on Nov. 21. that he would be forced to miss the rest of the season when a MRI revealed a torn peroneal tendon in his right foot, suffered during the B.C. game. John Kennedy, M.D., of the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, performed the corrective surgery on Dec. 15, 2008. After months of rest, recuperation, physical therapy and strength and conditioning work, Mason Jr. was cleared to return to the court for offseason voluntary workouts in early June, before suffering the original hamstring injury in early September.
An All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention selection and a first team All-Met honoree by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers' Association (MBWA) as a junior in 2007-08, Mason Jr. averaged a team-best 14.0 points per game that season and scored at a 14.0 ppg clip across three contests before his injury three games into last year's campaign. He is currently ranked sixth among St. John's all-time 3-point shooters with 109 across his 80-game career, which includes making seven shots from long-distance against Louisville on Jan. 26, 2008, to cap back-to-back 29-point games.
Meanwhile, the University will apply for a medical redshirt for sophomore guard Quincy Roberts, who has been suffering from recurring migraine headaches this fall. Roberts was examined, diagnosed and is being treated medically by Anita Wu, M.D., Director of Neurology at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Testing has not conclusively determined that Roberts' migraines are related to a concussion suffered on the Red Storm's Sept. 5 game against the University of Montreal at Quebec in Canada.
Roberts has played in four games this season, and would be eligible for the medical redshirt based on participation, well under the 30 percent or less mandated by the NCAA.
An explosive guard and the lone sophomore on the Red Storm's roster, Roberts returned to his natural position at shooting guard this season after making nine starts at the point last year, spelling Malik Boothe while he recovered from injury. An intelligent player with tremendous energy and enthusiasm, Roberts averaged 5.0 ppg as a freshman, and is comfortable firing from long distance or using his athleticism to drive the lane and slam one down. Roberts was averaging 2.3 ppg while shooting 50.0 percent from the field (4-for-8) this season.
Also on the injury front, big man Justin Burrell, who scored a bucket and went down with an ankle injury in the first minute of play against Duke on Dec. 5, is progressing nicely after suffering a high right ankle sprain. He is now off crutches and is receiving therapy two times per day. Burrell is averaging 4.9 ppg and 3.1 rebounds this season, and his return to the court is expected at the end of the month.
