Shayne Whittington Suffers Major Leg Injury, Likely Out Long Term

Well, with all of the NFL Draft news going on, some sad news to report out of the shooty hoops corner, as MLive's David Drew broke this disheartening news today:

Former WMU basketball C Shayne Whittington breaks bone, tears ligament during training session yesterday.

— David Drew (@Drew_on_WMU) May 9, 2014

Ouch.

There is some good news though.  As Drew was fairly hush-hush about what ligament was torn (ACL or MCL highly speculative), his follow-up article confirms it's just a foot ligament.  That's a huge break, as ACL tears usually sideline athletes for at least a year, with the average athlete needing about two years to return to 100% capacity.  For a player like Whittington, who already had small NBA Draft hopes despite a solid PIT showing, that would be a killer blow.

The bad news?  The All-MAC big man broke his fibula, one of the two major bones in your legs.  That'll sideline him for at least two months between surgery and recovery whilst in a cast.  After that, it just becomes all physiology.  He'll have to keep a lot of weight off of his leg for a couple weeks, but could be ready to go by the time August rolls around and NBA teams are running try-outs.

So while it is highly unlikely Whittington now gets picked in next month's NBA Draft, the former Bronco could still get some good looks come pre-season.  It'll all depend on the severity of, and recovery from, the fibula break.  Should he return to full strength, look for teams needing a big man with range to give him a good look at potential roster position.