Michigan basketball has been handed its first major injury blow of the season, the day before March arrived.
L.J. Cason, the Wolverines’ backup point guard and spark plug off the bench, has suffered a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season, the program announced on Saturday, Feb. 28. The sophomore guard injured his knee during Michigan’s Big Ten championship clinching victory over Illinois on Friday.
“First and foremost, our hearts hurt for L.J.,” coach Dusty May said in the release. “You never want to see a young man who has poured so much into this program have something like this happen. However, if there’s anyone equipped to handle this and the rehab process, it’s LJ. He’s resilient, he’s disciplined, and he has an incredible support system around him.”
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound guard out of Lakeland, Florida, was averaging 8.4 points and 2.4 assists per game this year, but had been notably more impactful in the last handful of games.
Cason had scored double figures in four of five games prior to the Illinois contest where he played just 13 minutes (but still scored nine points). That recent stretch included a career-high 18 points in a comeback at Northwestern when U-M was down 16 points in the second half and Cason didn’t come off the court for the final 15 minutes.
He averaged 11.8 points per game in U-M’s eight games in February and made 33 3-pointers in 29 games for No. 3 Michigan (27-2, 17-1 Big Ten).
“This isn’t how I wanted my season to end, but I trust God’s plan, and I’ll attack rehab the same way I approach everything – with focus and determination,” Cason said in a statement. “We’ve got many goals as a team, and I’ll be locked in supporting my brothers every step of the way.”
Michigan has two games remaining in the regular season, traveling to face Iowa on Thursday, March 5 before wrapping up the slate with rival Michigan State at Crisler Center on Sunday, March 8 for senior day.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan guard L.J. Cason out for season after tearing ACL vs Illinois
Reporting by Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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