Missouri State men’s basketball player Keith Pickens is expected to miss the entire 2010-11 season after undergoing emergency knee surgery in his hometown of St. Louis.
Pickens, who will be a sophomore for the Bears, ruptured his left patellar tendon while doing off-season conditioning last week. Surgery to repair the tendon was successful, but will require approximately 12 months to recover.
“It’s certainly tough news, but Keith is a competitor,” said head coach Cuonzo Martin. “We know he will work to get healthy so he can return in the future. He is a valuable part of our team and the goals we have for this season.”
Pickens missed the final three games of the 2009-10 season with an injury to the same knee. Arthroscopic surgery in April was successful in cleaning up a torn meniscus.
He played 33 games in all as a true freshman, earning 17 starts, while averaging 3.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 16.5 minutes per game. He was seventh on the team in scoring (130) and rebounding (78) and fifth in steals (21).
The Bears are in the process of finalizing their 2010-11 non-conference schedule, which should be available in the next couple of weeks. Martin begins his third season at the helm of the Bears who finished last season with a 24-12 overall record after winning the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
Story courtesy of missouristatebears.com.
