Injury news regarding Northern Iowa

[Da Coach]

This is news that could potentially affect Northern Iowa's season- UNI Head Coach Ben Jacobson revealed tonight on his weekly radio show that last year's Player of the Year & this season's Preseason POY A.J. Green is being evaluated for a hip injury. Jacobson mentioned that the treatment options are: rest & rehab and play through it this season, or have season-ending surgery or "perhaps find a third option".
https://twitter.com/realColeBair/sta...55512626012168

Green has already been ruled out out their next game tomorrow against NAIA St. Ambrose. The fact that surgery has been mentioned as a possibility is not good news, and almost always suggests there is some degree of structural damage such as a torn labrum. Green has aspirations of an NBA career in his future. That may affect his decision on how to proceed. The UNI beat writer tweeted that "Will have more details on AJ’s status tomorrow".

[Big Mike]

Wow...that's a heavy hit for UNI.

[Da Coach]

UNI Coach Ben Jacobson also revealed that sophomore guard Antwan Kimmons "will be stepping away from the team to return home and help his family through challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic". He added that he expects Kimmons to return to the team, but didn’t offer a date.

Kimmons is a 6'0" sophomore guard who has played in every game last season and this season. He is averaging 6.0 ppg in 19 minutes per game this season in his role as the first guard off the bench for UNI. If they lose Green and Kimmons, that really hurts their depth at guard.

[Da Coach]

If AJ Green is out for any length of time, then UNI is no longer a favorite to win the MVC. Loyola is now the clear-cut favorite.

[BUBalum05]

If AJ Green is out for any length of time, then UNI is no longer a favorite to win the MVC. Loyola is now the clear-cut favorite.

First the 0-3 start effectively ended any at-large talk, and this definitely puts them at risk of a lost season completely!

[Tommy]

First the 0-3 start effectively ended any at-large talk, and this definitely puts them at risk of a lost season completely!

The 0-3 start makes a lot more sense now. I wonder how much his hip has been affecting his game up to this point?

[Da Coach]

Here is an update that was just released this afternoon by UNI-
https://unipanthers.com/news/2020/12...el-update.aspx

Too bad for AJ Green. I hope he returns to 100%.

[Da Coach]

UNI head coach Ben Jacobson reveals that A.J. Green will undergo hip surgery and will miss the rest of the 2020-21 season
https://twitter.com/NickatCourier/st...30786055237635

[bigjimmy]

Hopefully surgery is successful and he comes back to terrorize the Mo Valley next season. He certainly will be hard to replace on the offensive end and it's showed so far. Certainly will help to play them in early January as opposed to playing them in late February.

[bradleyfan124]

Hopefully surgery is successful and he comes back to terrorize the Mo Valley next season. He certainly will be hard to replace on the offensive end and it's showed so far. Certainly will help to play them in early January as opposed to playing them in late February.

Somebody help me out here. Seems like after the surgery he will still have a tough time coming back to top playing shape next season

[Da Coach]

The details of his injury have not all been made public, so we don't know for sure what kind of surgery he is having.
So I am not referring to Green in saying that the most common type of hip injury that would fit this kind of situation is a tear of the labrum in the hip. It often seems like a minor problem at first, but continues to cause nagging pain that doesn't get better. When diagnosed, the two options are rest and allow it to heal as much as possible on its own, and then consider surgery later if it doesn't improve, or surgery right away to try to repair the tear and get back to fully healed status sooner. This sounds like the options that were given to Green. However, bradleyfan124 is right that no matter how skilled a surgeon is, and Green is travelling to Colorado to see a hip specialist, it is impossible to return the hip anatomy completely back to 100% normal. Most people will regain full function, but when stressed to maximum levels like high-level athletes do, there may still be some degree of alteration of function.
There have been a number of basketball players who have had hip labrum surgery. Most recently in the MVC, Loyola's Cooper Kaifes missed all of last season after labrum surgery and is back playing this season. He is averaging only 12.3 minutes per game after playing 22 minutes per game as a freshman in 2018-19.
Iowa's Jordan Bohannon has had the surgery on both hips. Many observers believe the injuries and surgeries have had an effect on his performance. Prior to his surgery, he was a 40%+ three point shooter and averaged double-digits. After coming back, he is shooting around 32% from three, and his scoring is down significanty.
https://www.thegazette.com/subject/s...ise%20decision.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4066366/jordan-bohannon

Here is a story about a prominent NBA player who underwent a similar hip surgery

https://cavsnation.com/isaiah-thomas-nbas-hip-labrum-injuries/

And his stats-

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/thomais02.html

Clearly he has never returned to the level he was at before the surgery. No two injuries are exactly the same, but I think most cases will show that there can be a drop-off in performance after surgery, though with enough time and rehab, the difference may get smaller.

[bradleyfan124]

The details of his injury have not all been made public, so we don't know for sure what kind of surgery he is having.
So I am not referring to Green in saying that the most common type of hip injury that would fit this kind of situation is a tear of the labrum in the hip. It often seems like a minor problem at first, but continues to cause nagging pain that doesn't get better. When diagnosed, the two options are rest and allow it to heal as much as possible on its own, and then consider surgery later if it doesn't improve, or surgery right away to try to repair the tear and get back to fully healed status sooner. This sounds like the options that were given to Green. However, bradleyfan124 is right that no matter how skilled a surgeon is, and Green is travelling to Colorado to see a hip specialist, it is impossible to return the hip anatomy completely back to 100% normal. Most people will regain full function, but when stressed to maximum levels like high-level athletes do, there may still be some degree of alteration of function.
There have been a number of basketball players who have had hip labrum surgery. Most recently in the MVC, Loyola's Cooper Kaifes missed all of last season after labrum surgery and is back playing this season. He is averaging only 12.3 minutes per game after playing 22 minutes per game as a freshman in 2018-19.
Iowa's Jordan Bohannon has had the surgery on both hips. Many observers believe the injuries and surgeries have had an effect on his performance. Prior to his surgery, he was a 40%+ three point shooter and averaged double-digits. After coming back, he is shooting around 32% from three, and his scoring is down significanty.
https://www.thegazette.com/subject/s...ise%20decision.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4066366/jordan-bohannon

Here is a story about a prominent NBA player who underwent a similar hip surgery

https://cavsnation.com/isaiah-thomas-nbas-hip-labrum-injuries/

And his stats-

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/thomais02.html

Clearly he has never returned to the level he was at before the surgery. No two injuries are exactly the same, but I think most cases will show that there can be a drop-off in performance after surgery, though with enough time and rehab, the difference may get smaller.

And that is the shame of it with A.J.Green. He is such a good basketball player that it is a shame that this would curtail his career sooner than expected