MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota junior forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, the team’s second-leading scorer who has missed the past two games with a foot injury, will be sidelined indefinitely, coach Nico Medved said Friday.
Crocker-Johnson, who had the most rebounds for the depleted Gophers, is unlikely to recover in time to play again this season, with the team having to be cautious with injuries, Medved told reporters.
“Right now, we’re just planning that he won’t come back,” Medved said. “We’ll see what happens, but we’re moving towards it.”
The Gophers (12-14, 5-10 Big Ten), who host Rutgers on Saturday, are essentially down to a six-player rotation. They lost starters Robert Vaihola and Chancey Willis to season-ending injuries in November. Backups BJ Omott and Chance Stephens are unavailable for the season.
“I’ve never seen anything like that before, where guys are just laughing, almost: ‘This can’t be real,'” Medved said. “But the way these guys handled it is really amazing.”
Crocker-Johnson was playing through the injury before the pain worsened following Minnesota’s upset of then-No. 10 Michigan State on Feb. 4, Medved said. After playing a key role for Medved last season at Colorado State, Crocker-Johnson transferred to Minnesota and averaged 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
