Second ORU player lost to knee injury

By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer - 11/4/2009


The Oral Roberts basketball team lost a second player from the same practice session to a knee injury, head coach Scott Sutton confirmed Wednesday.

An MRI showed that 6-foot-9 redshirt freshman Tim Morton had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and will require surgery.

Morton, who sat out last season, was injured about 15 minutes after true freshman Hunter McClintock injured his right knee in practice last Friday afternoon. McClintock also will need surgery.

Morton was being counted on to supply depth on the front line, where the Eagles are thin. ORU is left with only three scholarship athletes 6-foot-9 or taller.

But Sutton said he was more disappointed for the athlete.

“You hate it for him. He sat out last year, and it’s going to be three years since he’s played in a game,” Sutton said.

Morton’s last action was in 2006-07 for Cornerstone Christian, an elite prep school in San Antonio, Texas. He was denied ORU eligibility in 2007-08 by the NCAA Clearinghouse, but returned to school last year after the issue was resolved.

“He wasn’t quite ready to help us last year so we redshirted him, and he’s made a lot of improvements,” Sutton said.

“Certainly, he’ll be missed in practice. The first couple of weeks have been some of the best practices we’ve had. They’ve been very competitive, with 11 or 12 guys who are all pretty close battling for playing time,” Sutton said.



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Tulsa World Reader Comments
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Arbythree, Tulsa (11/4/2009 2:11:05 PM)
This is unfortunate.



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