At the 3:35 mark of the first quarter on Friday night against Lakeside Lightning, Time Kruge went down grabbing his knee. He was taken to hospital and the initial diagnosis was that it may not be so bad. He went back and had an MRI on Saturday morning, and then met with the specialist yesterday (Monday).
It was at that meeting he was given the news that it was a snapped ACL.
Firstly and most importantly, this is devastating news for Tim. He will be a good 9 months away from competitive basketball. Tim made a joke earlier in the season that he has never played without an injury of some sort, and he has shown his grit in the past playing an entire year of college with a fractured leg. I am sure he will come back from this, but it’s never something that should happen, especially to someone with Tim’s character.
As for the team, this is a massive blow. Now matter how much you talk about opportunities, stepping up and all the clichés, you cannot replace someone like Tim mid-season. The 2008 Eagles SBL team has gone from a planned 2 import players surrounded by talented locals to the talented locals fighting it out. We still await news of Mike Jones possible arrival, however that has become an ongoing joke with the “2 weeks” being the usual response…for the past 3 months.
If you can get such a thing from a game like this, here are some ‘bright spots’:
- The return to the top end of the “up-down” cycle of Jon Moon. After rolling his ankle badly in the last game, he returned to a 23pt, 4ast performance on 10/20 fg (9/15 inside the arc)
- John Taylors continued return to form with a near triple double (20pts, 12rbds, 7asts)
- Nik Donlagic’s solid performance in limited minutes, which has now extended over the last few games
In order for us to remain competitive in 2008, we will need to work on a lot of areas, some of which are:
- Our first half field goal percentage was again poor. Partially this could be blamed on the shock of Tim going down and subsequent adjustments, however 22% in the first quarter is 22% whichever way you slice it
- Consistent defensive focus, rather than applying in bursts
- Improving our zone defence. In order for us to apply different looks and apply pressure to the opposition, we need to have excellent man to man and zone defensive options
Next week we will be reviewing the individual goals set during our team talk last week. This should give us an idea of how individuals are progressing in regards their own improvement programs. As a team, we realise we now have to step up consistently, no more excuses. The league is exceptionally competitive, every game is a challenge and we will be looking for more of our younger players to follow in the steps of Jarrod Balcombe and Nathan Friend and provide consistent strong contributions.
This week we have the Perth Redbacks on their home court at Belmont. I watched their game on Saturday night against the Rockingham Flames and was impressed with their lineup, chemistry and efficiency. They are a very strong team and have pushed some of the top teams to close results in their last few games.
How we handle the remainder of the season will define who we are as a team, and how we are remembered. Will we wilt under the pressure, not believe in our ability to compete and fade away? Or will we rise to the challenge, fight out every game and do it against the odds. Romantic notions aside, I like to think we will take it to every team. Let’s see shall we.
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