Petrusic suffers torn ACL

CENTER COULD MISS SIGNIFICANT TIME

(8/16/04)

The UIC Flames received some bad news recently when they learned that they could lose senior center Josip Petrusic for at least part of the 2004-05 season.

The Metkovic, Croatia native tore his right anterior cruciate ligament while playing in a 1-on-1 game.

Petrusic (pictured) underwent successful surgery and is already doing light rehabilitation work.

“He had the surgery [a couple of weeks] ago,” said UIC coach Jimmy Collins said. “He’s already gung-ho about coming back.”

However, team trainer Mike Gilmartin told Collins that Petrusic may not be available until at least mid-December with his return more likely in February.

Petrusic was likely going to battle for a significant minutes in the post this season after averaging 1.6 points and 1.8 rebounds in 29 games. He was a regular in Collins’ 10-man rotation once it was established in January of last season. He had a career-high of eight points in an 83-68 victory over Cleveland State on Jan. 17.

It is possible that Petrusic could miss the entire season with the injury. He would have to petition the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility, because he used up his redshirt year during the 2002-03 season after transferring from Treasure Valley (Ore.) Community College.

The Flames could be stretched a little thin the post without Petrusic. However, Collins said that, besides junior Elliott Poole and newcomer Luther Boyd, sophomore Jovan Stefanov and junior Justin Bowen will get some time in the post area as well as Armond Williams, provided he returns.

ELIGIBILITY: Not much has changed on the eligibility front of Williams and point guard Martell Bailey. From sources within the athletic department, the process is a University academic matter and an NCAA matter.

The latest is that Williams “will probably be back” and Bailey “may or may not return.”

However, as said in previous news reports, Cedrick Banks is officially on board for another season.

“Cedrick is all set,” Collins said. “Hopefully, we will find out something positive about Martell and Armond.”

The final word for Williams and Bailey may come within the next week or so before Fall classes begin. Collins said that everyone else on the team is on track and eligible.

SCHEDULE SPEAK: The slate is still not official, but there is still rumblings about which opponents will grace the schedule when it finally comes out.

ACC power Georgia Tech and UIC have been talking about a game at the Pavilion this season. It would give Chicago native and Crane High School graduate Will Bynum an opportunity to play in front of his family.

The Yellow Jackets, who were in the National Championship game last year, would give UIC its second ACC opponent, along with Duke. Speculation is that the Flames would have to return at least one game, possibly two, with Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

The Duke situation is also getting more interesting, as the latest has the Flames traveling to Raleigh/Durham on Dec. 15 for a game on ESPN2. The game with the Blue Devils could potentially be a second stop on what might be a four-game road-trip after finals.

UIC would also play at UNC-Wilmington and Mississippi State (in Jackson, Miss.), with possible opponents in South Alabama or Arkansas-Little Rock.

Another by-product of the Duke contest would be the rescheduling of the UIC-Northwestern game. It appears that the Flames will play at Welsh-Ryan Arena in the 2005-06 season.

There was also talk about a game with Marquette and an NCAA tournament rematch with Kansas. The Jayhawks, according to the Topeka-Capital Journal, contacted UIC for a possible game at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, but the teams could not work out a common date. Kansas, however, will be playing Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Dec. 22 at Kemper.

The home non-conference schedule looks to be nearly complete with South Dakota State, Penn, the Bracket Buster game, and possibly Georgia Tech and St. Joseph’s (Ind.).

Other road games are Illinois State and Bowling Green.

ALUMNI UPDATE: Former Flames guard Jon-Pierre Mitchom surfaced in the United States Basketball League this past spring.

Mitchom (pictured) played nine games for his hometown team, the St. Louis Skyhawks. He averaged 7.7 points per contest, shooting 38 percent from the field.

Mitchom played four years at UIC with the highlight being a career-high 33 points in a four-overtime victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee at the Pavilion on Jan. 11, 2001.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Once again, I will be providing UIC Alumni Magazine with a preview of the Horizon League basketball season. For those alumni with a membership to the University of Illinois Alumni Association, you should get a copy right around the season-opener in mid-November.