Yesterday was a no good, downright, rotten afternoon for the Maryland basketball team.
Not only did they lose for only the fifth time this season, they lost one of the cogs in the machine they were hoping to ride to a deep tournament run. Michal Cekovsky, the 7-foot Slovak at center for the Terrapins fractured his ankle in the losing effort and will miss the remainder of the season.
Coach Mike Turgeon confirmed the diagnosis on Monday.
“I feel badly for Ceko as he has endured a number of injuries throughout the season,” Turgeon said in a statement. “It felt like he was really starting to turn the corner and his best basketball was ahead of him. We anticipate a full recovery for next season and we will be there to support him through the rehabilitation process.”
Here is the play that led to the injury.
Michal Cekovsky holding his ankle in pain after going down awkwardly #Ouch #CollegeBasketball #Maryland @TerrapinHoops pic.twitter.com/TLx6zcImC4
— HDSportsClips (@HDSportsClips) February 19, 2017
Maryland will take on Minnesota in the next game on Wednesday, and will continue the climb to March without a big part of their team. In 17 games this season, Cekovsky is averaging nearly eight points and three rebounds.
With the loss, the Terps fell one spot to No. 24 in the country.
A junior, Cekovsky will only have one year of eligibility remaining following the season. While an NBA career seems unlikely at this point, there is usually room in the league for guys that have his kind of size. If he is able to get his body right and perform well on a winning team next season, he might have a chance to catch on somewhere after he graduates.
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