A couple comments in the SIU press seem to make it appear that they made a significant mistake with Mullins by not getting him to a medical specialists and by continuing to have him play while he was hurt with a not-yet-disclosed condition.
According to the articles, Mullins had been hurting for an entire MONTH, and yet did NOT see a doctor until the pain was almost unbearable, and he couldn't even walk.
In other words...he had been playing for nearly a month on a sore leg that had a stress fracture, and
"It turned out to be a stress fracture in his left tibia.
The pain originated three to four weeks ago, Mullins said, and gradually got worse.
"It's been a rough couple last weeks, but I just thought I would try to help my team, play through it, and see if we could make the NCAA Tournament," Mullins said. "After that, I kind of agreed to go see the doctor."
Mullins, the Missouri Valley Conference's Defensive Player of the Year, did appear to be a little off in his last two games...
Mullins said he was only able to play in the games as much as he did through the adrenaline rush of the crowd and sheer willpower.
Playing without really knowing what's wrong was, maybe, not the smartest thing, but, again, you just want to help your team as much as possible," Mullins said. "We did the best thing that we could at the time....
Now..............
Doctors have asked him not to put much weight on it over the next two weeks. He originally considered playing the rest of the season, but if he aggravated the fracture, or broke something else, he might have been off the court for six to nine months."
These are all their words..not mine.......
I sure hope the kid's future hasn't been ruined by the "game plan" they pursued.