Syracuse freshman Chris McCullough's knee injury is a torn ACL
Whatever joy Syracuse took from a 3-0 start to ACC play vanished Monday when it learned it will not have a key player for ther rest of the season.
Tests revealed that the right knee injury freshman forward Chris McCullough suffered Sunday against Florida State indeed is a torn ACL. The 6-foot-10 New York native will undergo season-ending surgery once the swelling in his knee goes down.
The diagnosis is no surprise given the way McCullough's knee appeared to buckle when he planted trying to catch a pass from Michael Gbinije in transition on Sunday. McCullough did not return to the Syracuse bench in the second half and posted on Instagram on Monday morning acknowledging the pain he was in was the worst of his life.
Losing McCullough for the rest of the season is a huge blow to a Syracuse team that isn't as certain a bet to make the NCAA tournament as usual this season. The Orange (12-4) lost four non-league games and lack enough consistent scoring threats besides forward Rakeem Christmas and sharpshooter Trevor Cooney.
McCullough was the best candidate to emerge as a third scorer, but he has slumped offensively over the past few weeks. He scored at least 10 points in Syracuse's first eight games of the season but has not hit double figures since then, drawing the ire of Jim Boeheim for his shot selection and tentativeness.
"Chris started out great (this year)," Boeheim told the Syracuse Post-Standard after a win over Georgia Tech on Wednesday night. "He played great. Great! Now we can't get him to play bad. We'd like to get him to play bad. That would be a step up from where we are."
In spite of his recent offensive woes, McCullough's length, athleticism and activity make him a disruptive defender in the two-three zone and a capable rebounder. Syracuse will replace him in its starting lineup by inserting forward Tyler Roberson alongside Rakeem Christmas in the frontcourt, but that leaves the Orange without promising options off the bench. DaJuan Coleman is redshirting with an injury and sophomore center Chinoso Obokoh has only played in six games this season.
The only upside for Syracuse is this seems to increase the chances McCullough returns to school for his sophomore season. He had been considered a potential first-round pick next June prior to the injury.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
