Column: Safford's injury a big one
Published March 2, 2010
When I see injuries, part of me loses the fascination I have with sports. Heading into the postseason, teams should have all the available parts that got them there. It just seems fair. Unfortunately, I realized last week Missouri men's basketball does not play in my idealized world with no injuries.
Although there's a slim chance of him returning, the torn ACL in junior forward Justin Safford's left knee will likely prevent him from seeing more playing time this season. As with anyone on coach Mike Anderson's team, Safford is a question mark as to what he brings to each game. It depends on the success of his 15-foot jump shots. In this regard, he acts too much like a guard trapped in a big man's body, shooting a relatively low 42 percent from the field.
Safford averages 8.9 points and 4.1 rebounds, good for fourth and third best on the team, respectively. But his most important quality is leadership. Safford brings his best game when his teammates are struggling. His 19 points led the Tigers against Kansas on Jan. 25 and represented the closest thing to an answer for Jayhawk junior center Cole Aldrich. He played 32 minutes and scored 13 points in both close games against Iowa State on Feb. 10 and Baylor on Feb. 13.
But I will stop lamenting about Safford because I know he will back next year and play a vital role in guiding the Tigers to another NCAA Tournament appearance as their only senior (ahem). So despite whatever he might bring in limited action, I do not want to see him playing again this season at the risk of further aggravating the injury for the sake of perhaps one more postseason game.
As has been said before, if there were a system that could handle adversity, Anderson's would be the one. Safford only averages 20 minutes per game, and forwards senior Keith Ramsey and sophomore Laurence Bowers have elevated their play of late. Everyone knows sophomore center Steve Moore will face increased playing time and pressure, but I will be looking specifically at the play of four others.
Without Safford, the Tigers are down to three upperclassmen. Three. This means senior guards Zaire Taylor and J.T. Tiller and senior forward Ramsey must play fairly consistently and provide leadership on the floor (as well as off).
The other player I want to see is freshman forward John Underwood. The tallest man on the team at 6-feet 9-inches, Underwood displayed defensive prowess in three minutes against Colorado on Feb. 24. I will be begging for Anderson to give him some playing time because his size alone will alter opponents' shots. The question comes on the offensive end regarding how his lean frame will match up against other forwards. But when Moore offers you next to nothing on the offensive end, Underwood's worth the look.
It was difficult to measure the impact of Safford's injury against Kansas State on Saturday. Critics will point to the Tigers' abysmal offensive performance and how the team only had five guys score during the first 33:13 of the game. For this team to win, the bench must play a pivotal role.
But optimists will (correctly) claim officials do not usually alter the definition of a foul over the course of a game, and despite a combined three points from sophomore guard Marcus Denmon, freshman guard Mike Dixon, Bowers and Moore, the Tigers only lost by 10 on the road to the sixth-ranked team in the country.
So let's take the high road and say this team will have better shooting nights and absorb the loss of Safford. And if they have trouble against Iowa State on Tuesday, well, it's supposed to be 50 degrees come Friday. Oh, and there's the Kansas game Saturday.