Coach Larry Eustachy announced today that super senior guard Jesse Carr injured his left anterior cruciate ligament in practice and will miss the 2013 season. This injury officially ends a frustrating college career for Carr who missed two seasons already with a groin injury and torn ACL. Both seasons he was granted a medical hardship waiver, and the team was looking forward to having his leadership and production back this season.
In a press release from the University today, Eustachy had this to say,
"This is just a devastating injury. Jesse worked harder than anyone to get healthy and get back on the court. This is going to be an extremely tough time for him, but our coaching staff and the entire program are behind him."
Carr was a key recruit under former coach Tim Miles and helped revive a Rams program that was among the worst in the country. During his three healthy years with the team, he averaged over six points a game and shot 35% from beyond the three point line.
It is a tough loss for the Rams who expected the Preseason Mountain West Player of the Year candidate to provide senior leadership for a young team. With the loss of Carr, there will be more pressure on Jon Octeus to ramp up his production. Octeus averaged 4.7 points a game on only 36% field goal shooting. The Rams also have a plethora of new faces who have a chance to step up. Chief among these is true freshman David Cohn who is proving his hype in practices so far this season.