Ann Arbor — The possibility of guard L.J. Cason missing next season as he recovers from a torn ACL has become a near certainty.
Michigan coach Dusty May announced Monday that the plan is for Cason to redshirt for the 2026-27 campaign.
“Timing,” May said, when asked what went into the decision. “He hasn’t had surgery yet. I can’t imagine bringing him back in January after not playing for a year and a half.”
The typical recovery timeline from surgery for a torn ACL ranges anywhere from nine to 12 months. May noted that Cason still doesn’t have a surgery date scheduled yet.
“We want him to be a part of this stuff,” May said. “We don’t want him to miss the NCAA Tournament. We don’t want him to miss the Big Ten tournament. I think the longer we play, the longer surgery (is on hold).
“The medical people sometimes they want to get all the swelling out. We lean on them. I don’t comment on things that I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking, studying, reading about. When it comes to the medical side, I lean on our elite support staff.”
Cason suffered the season-ending injury in the Feb. 27 win at Illinois that secured the outright Big Ten regular-season title. Cason landed funny, went down to the court and got up favoring his right leg on two separate occasions, once in the first half and again in the second half. Last week, May said he nor Cason knew which play led to the guard tearing his right ACL.
It was an abrupt end to what was a strong sophomore season for Cason. He was averaging 8.4 points and 2.4 assists in 18.6 minutes off the bench as the team’s backup point guard. He also made a major leap as a 3-point shooter, knocking down 33 deep balls at a 40.2% clip.
His absence has opened the door for Michigan’s other guards, namely Nimari Burnett, Roddy Gayle Jr. and Trey McKenney, to play larger roles and for longer stretches.
“It gives them a chance to grow and develop,” May said. “Obviously, L.J. was built for certain games, and he was playing as well as anyone on our roster when he when he went down. The timing of it wasn’t perfect, but once again it’s an opportunity for other guys to step up. L.J. was a big part of us getting to this point, and now we’ve all got to give a little bit more to get over the hump without him.”
Since Cason’s injury, the Wolverines are 2-0 with wins at Iowa and over Michigan State.
Against the Hawkeyes, Burnett, Gayle and McKenney combined for 14 points and seven rebounds. Against the Spartans, the trio combined for 37 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.
“I thought we looked much more comfortable finding different entries find and flow offensively (against Michigan State),” May said. “We looked better in Game 2 than we did Game 1. We need to look a little bit better in Game 3 than we did Game 2 but very encouraged by Trey McKenney’s poise. Because of the efforts of Yaxel (Lendeborg) and some of the Roddy and some of the older guys, he didn’t get the shine that he probably deserves. His second half was phenomenal. For a freshmen to come into that environment and make the plays he made was impressive. And just to see him share the ball handling duties and to grow into even a bigger role, it’s going to be very beneficial for him as an individual and for our team.”
As the Wolverines forge ahead into the postseason, May noted that Cason’s injury can serve as a source of motivation while also putting things into perspective.
“I think from a big picture, it keeps guys from taking this for granted, that it can all be taken away today at the drop of a hat,” May said on the “Inside Michigan Basketball” radio show last week. “Just make sure that you’re enjoying what you’re doing every day, and you’re bringing your best attitude, and there’s a level of gratitude that comes with this.
“They’ll rally around L.J. They really respect him and are going to miss him. But this will be certainly something that we can rally around and find a positive.”
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
@jamesbhawkins
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan’s L.J. Cason expected to miss entire 2026-27 season
Reporting by James Hawkins, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
