South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
McLeod could miss up to 7 weeks
Florida State center Naheem McLeod will miss 6-7 weeks with an Achilles’ injury he suffered in the Seminoles’ 68-54 loss at UCF on Friday night.
The sophomore was injured midway through the first half, collapsing to the floor and grabbing his right foot in pain. He was helped to the locker room by the training staff and returned in the second half in street clothes and wearing a protective boot.
“Naheem has a slight Achilles’ issue,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said following the game. “He’ll probably be out 6 or 7 weeks recovering from that. Every team goes through those periods where it seems as if you have one issue or another.
“We have two ACLs, a broken thumb and obviously we’ve got Baba Miller’s suspension and now we have Achilles’. Other than that, everything is just fine.”
Without the 7-foot-4 big man, the Seminoles struggled on the boards, outrebounded by the Knights 52-22.
This is the latest blow to Florida State, which was limited to just eight scholarship players because of myriad injuries and the suspension. Transfer forward Jaylan Gainey (knee), guard Chandler Jackson (thumb), forward De’Ante Green (knee), forward Miller (suspension) and guard Jeremiah Bembry (undisclosed) have been absent.
McLeod’s injury forced Hamilton to use a seven-man rotation the rest of the game.
That number dropped to six when guard Matthew Cleveland fouled out with about
6:30 left.
Because of the lack of depth, Florida State had three players play more than
30 minutes, including former UCF guard Darin Green Jr. who played all 20 minutes in the second half.
“I don’t remember playing a player an entire half,” said Hamilton. “We normally play about 24 or 25 minutes and in a rotation, but this is a new edition of Seminole basketball and we’ve got to find a way to be more together, execute better and fight harder.”
FSU (0-2) hosts Troy on Monday at Donald L. Tucker Center.