Josh Henderson’s knee injury leaves Vanderbilt with eight scholarship players
Vanderbilt escaped with a victory over Marshall on Thursday night but coach Kevin Stallings told reporters he believes junior center Josh Henderson suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Stallings said Henderson likely tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee and will undergo an MRI to confirm the suspected injury. The Tennessean newspaper reported Stallings is down to eight scholarship players.
Henderson hasn't produced much in the way of big statistics this season. He's averaging 6.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 19 minutes a game. But his presence has given Stallings more depth and options that he won't have now.
The Commodores will likely miss that depth most when Southeastern Conference play begins and they're facing the likes of Kentucky, Missouri, Ole Miss and Florida.
“It hurts. Josh was playing well," Stallings told the Tennessean newspaper. "He’s been playing good basketball for us. … I’m so sad for him and so sorry for him because unfortunately bad things happen to good people, and he’s a wonderful kid and has worked very hard to try to become a good player.”
Henderson's injury will put a greater workload on freshman Damian Jones, who has been splitting time with Henderson. Jones is scoring 9.3 points with 4.4 rebounds a game while also averaging 19 minutes.
He looked up to the challenge Thursday scoring 15 points while playing a career-high 28 minutes in the victory over Marshall.
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is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
