Penn's crutches answer the question
Published: 1/26/2010 1:48 PM
Last Modified: 1/26/2010 1:48 PM
Unless someone comes up with a miracle cure, Oklahoma State will have to pick and choose spots to employ freshman point guard Ray Penn in practices and games.
Penn, a starter, missed OSU's victory at Kansas State in order to rest a knee injury. Will Penn play Wednesday against Texas A&M?
While Travis Ford was being asked Monday about Penn's status, the "click-clack" of Penn's crutches as he walked nearby more or less answered the question.
Penn did not practice Monday. Ford said Penn is day-to-day and said Penn's return will be determined by the athletic training staff.
"Speaking with the trainers and everybody, this is a situation we're going to have to monitor," Ford said.
"It's unfortunate. He's not going to get to practice as much as we'd like. We'll try to save him for games as much as possible. And that's never a good scenario, especially for a freshman. If he was an older player, you'd feel a little better about it. But freshmen need as much practice time as possible."
If you were the coach and had to pick one game for Penn to play this week, would you choose a Wednesday home game against Texas A&M? Or a Saturday trip to Missouri? The Cowboys can use all the ballhandlers they can get against the Tigers' press. But Penn at less than 100 percent could be a liability against the press.
What's Penn's exact injury? Ford was asked Saturday if Penn has a stress fracture and the coach said Penn was headed that way.
"It's kind of been a strange deal, the whole thing, where it's at," Ford said Monday. "It's not real, real bad, but it's a thing that can get worse. So it's a very fine line you have to walk."
--Jimmie Tramel.
Written by
Jimmie Tramel
Sports Writer
