Loe hopeful on skull break
He’s sporting a nasty fractured skull, but Breakers’ big man Rob Loe hasn’t lost his sense of humour.
Loe suffered the sickening injury in the first quarter of the Breakers’ 103-72 win over the Illawarra Hawks at Auckland’s Spark Arena on Thursday.
The Tall Blacks centre was struck in the head by the elbow of highly-rated American teen LaMelo Ball, projected to be a lottery pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Speaking yesterday, Loe said some of his Breakers’ team-mates had felt the swelling when they came into training and were ‘‘pretty disgusted’’ by it.
‘‘So it’s still there and hopefully it doesn’t show too much in the future,’’ he said.
‘‘I went to block Melo [Ball]. He came down, his arm went between my arms and straight into my forehead, so right on the point. He’s got boney elbows. It hurt a little bit. I came down and there was a little dent in my head. It didn’t feel too great.’’
Loe stayed in hospital over the weekend with further tests conducted. A doctor’s appointment today will reveal the full extent of the damage and how long Loe will be sidelined.
The Breakers have already called in former Sydney Kings centre Deng Deng as cover for Loe.
‘‘I think I won’t be out too long, hopefully. I’m a glass half full type guy ... but I’d like to be out less than they plan.
‘‘Mentally it’s pretty disappointing for me. I had been playing pretty well and a strong start to the season. Pretty disappointing, but the boys are going to continue holding down the fort. They will do well.’’
Loe was set to be an integral figure for the Breakers, returning to the club this season after a one-year stint at the Cairns Taipans.
On the Breakers’ American tour against NBA sides, the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder, he was particularly impressive and caught the eye of NBA scouts.
He shone against Steven Adams’ Thunder, contributing 19 points and five rebounds.
The Breakers, who have a 1-3 record after four games, host the Taipans in their next Australian NBL game at Spark Arena tomorrow night.