The one thing most people are going to say about this game is the possible return of Levance Fields. He’s been practicing with the team after he was cleared by doctors, and he could possible see a few minutes tonight.
“It will be his decision,” Dixon told reporters on Saturday. “It’s going to be day-to-day. There are going to be some ups and downs as it goes, as you would expect when he hasn’t done anything for six weeks.”
Following Ramon’s winning three over WVU, Fields ran faster off the bench faster than any other Pitt player. And just as Pitt starts to get a starter back, Providence is realizing how many players they are starting to lose. Sharaud Curry is out for the year while Jeff Xavier and Geoff McDermott are playing through pain. Ray Hall has been suspended and Weiyinmi Efejuku has simply played poorly. Also working for Pitt’s favor, the Friars have not won in the Petersen Events Center.
Providence AD Bob Driscoll is hearing from fans about the underachieving Friars team.
“My reaction is I’m disappointed we haven’t been better,†Driscoll said. “There are lots of reasons you can point to. We’ve had injuries and a few other issues but, at the end of the day, we’re judged on our record. It’s not what I wanted it to be.â€
Head coach Tim Welsh’s seat is getting hotter. A win over Pitt would undoubtedly be huge for Welsh and the whole team, so they’ll be coming out ready to play. Don’t count out Pitt though. The Big East goal continues to be winning the Big East championship, even without Mike Cook and with Fields missing a chunk of time.
“Every game is huge from here on out,” said Benjamin, who’s averaging 12.6 points as a starter. “The Big East is a crazy league, and you never know when you’re out of it. We’re playing well on defense and once we get back to playing like I know we can on offense, we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”
Tip at 7:30 on ESPN Full Court and FSN Pittsburgh locally.
I reported my reserach on the Fields situation after the Dokish prediction and the medical literature seemed to suport his estimates. I copied my posts form 12/31/2007 below. It was subsequently shot down in a post by a “Dr Jim”, who predicted that Fields would not return at all this season.
hee are the posts:
Comment by TMGPanther 12.30.07 @ 12:51 pm
“Omar, if it is a fracture here is the healing time. Let’s hope it is a bad sprain.
Metatarsal bones and the phalanges may heal in 3-6 weeks…..
Comment by TMGPanther 12.30.07 @ 11:01 pm
Here is some medical information from an Orthopedic journal that seems to be on point for Fields condition. This seems to support the Dokish view of 6-8 weeks. Let’s hope Levance heals like TO. Can we get him a hyperbaric chamber!!
“DeLee et al7 also reported successful outcomes in 10 athletes treated with percutaneous screw fixation, with clinical healing evident at 3 to 6 weeks. Mindrebo et al24 recently reported clinical results of nine Division I collegiate athletes treated for Torg Type I fractures of the fifth metatarsal. These patients were allowed full weight-bearing 7 to 10 days after surgery in a boot brace, with progression to bicycling, swimming, and Stairmaster at 2 to 3 weeks. The average return to running was 5.5 weeks after surgery, with return to full competition at an average of 8.5 weeks.
