Crawford's Foot BROKEN

[UNI MadCat]

http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2...1905240771.txt

Sorry to be the first to post this...

Out 4-6 weeks.

[pantherclaw]

GRRR more of a reason to dislike creighton.

[Panthers to the Bone]

First off this is a horrible thing for a senior. I feel for Erik, as he has worked so hard to be where he is, and has done alot for this team. I wish him a speedy recovery and he will be in my prayers for a full, quick recovery.

On the other hand, there is a silver lining. This forces UNI to develop Travis Brown, Jared Josten, Adam Viet (when he gets back), and Atila Santos. UNI has used Crawford at the '4' spot in the past, but without his big, physical body, will we see more Atila Santos, and less 4 guard rotation? Or will Travis Brown be the guy who steps in and can play the '4' when UNI goes 4 guard?

This should help make the bench deeper, and when Crawford comes back around MVC Tourney time, the Panthers should get a boost emotionally and talent wise, but there will be more depth. Get well soon Erik!

[UNI MadCat]

Best case scenario (4 weeks) has him missing 9 games. I think its time to re-evaluate your championship goals and allow for some growing pains but I'm pulling for a 6-3 run.

Then we have 4 games left, including the B. Buster and @ SIU, so lets go 3-1.

Basically, I still see 23-7 as a possibility going into the MVC. Unfortunately, I see the title going out the window. Sorry, maybe that's a pessimistic view but my mind's racing right now and this is actually a pretty positive outlook for a team that isn't really experienced beyond 6-deep.

[Panthers to the Bone]

Rallying behinid injuries Panther style:
See Chris Foster 2003
See David Gruber 2003

[oldcat]

AAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhh nuts!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope it works out that way PTTB............. I just feel for Erik. My prayers go out to him, also!

[UNI MadCat]

Rallying behinid injuries Panther style:
See Chris Foster 2003
See David Gruber 2003

With all due respect, I think this is much more detrimental. But lets hope the boys prove me wrong in a big way!!

[Panthers to the Bone]

In 2003, UNI had their center playing with a broken wrist, and then their most dependable PG (no disrespect to McKowen, but at that time, Foster was an upperclassman and McKowen was a freshman, whom they shared time) went down just before the biggest four game stretch in UNI history. They rallied, won the games, and the rest is history. This team will be fine.

[NEIOWABB]

The Panthers will be fine. All of their goals are still obtainable. Crawford's injury just means Josten, Viet, Williams, Santos, and Brown are going to have to step up and accept the challenge. These guys are very capable players, they just haven't gotten many minutes because of the talent ahead of them. Mac and his staff don't just had out scholarships to anyone. These guys can play and now is there chance to show the Panther Nation what they can do. They are going to make mistakes, but those will decrease as their minutes increase. Don't throw in the towel just yet.

[ejacobson]

EC out hurts, but did you see the confidence Brown had last night, if he can step up the speed and learn the offense he can fit right in the mix. This is a team that thrives on emotion and I hope that this motivates them to win some big games for EC and that when he comes back he just needs to get read for the two tourny's MVC and NCAA. GO PANTHERS!!

Don't be so down everyone, it was one loss, and one injury, all is not lost. Eric is a huge leader and phenomenal player but Mac will get the young guys going and I think you will see John Little hitting the starting lineup and knocking down more huge threes and playing some more Tough D.

The MVC title is still up for grabs its only a third of the way through the conference season and lots of basketball is left to be played.

[UNIAlum95]

EC out hurts, but did you see the confidence Brown had last night, if he can step up the speed and learn the offense he can fit right in the mix. This is a team that thrives on emotion and I hope that this motivates them to win some big games for EC and that when he comes back he just needs to get read for the two tourny's MVC and NCAA. GO PANTHERS!!

Don't be so down everyone, it was one loss, and one injury, all is not lost. Eric is a huge leader and phenomenal player but Mac will get the young guys going and I think you will see John Little hitting the starting lineup and knocking down more huge threes and playing some more Tough D.

The MVC title is still up for grabs its only a third of the way through the conference season and lots of basketball is left to be played.

The reason people are down on this loss is that 1. It was at home. We need to protect the home court and we did not bring our best game. 2. It was the evil empire of Creighton....

All said, we need to regroup, find someone to step up and get a big win on the road at IL SU. Then it is back home for SIU. Two huge games that could swing the season. Win them and this loss is forgotten. Lose and we could be headed for trouble. Let's go get a big win on Saturday!

[ceaser150]

I still think we could get an at-large with a 11-7 or even 10-8 conference record. The Committee takes injuries into consideration. So even if have a bad run w/o Crawford, we should be able to pull it together for the post-season. Sure, a regular season title is not as likely anymore, but the post-season is much more important. If our bench is able to step it up and build confidence in his absence, it sets us up for a good post-season run and next year. I am sure the coaching staff knew this injury was a possibility before the season began and has a plan in place. Maybe this is why Brown did not redshirt. As long as we can be healthy by St. Louis, and as long as we aren't playing on Thursday, we are still ok.

[McPANTHER]

Let's not give up too soon. We lost a great player in EC, but it happens to a lot of good teams. Who expected to go through the season without some type of injury? I like what I see in Travis and J. Little is solid. Those two could start on most teams in this league. We will miss EC a lot but all is not lost. We have the talent to step it up for EC and still be the team to beat in the MVC.

[TravelingPanther]

i figured he'd miss a few games, but i wasn't thinking broken foot. i really think travis can be a big contributor to this team, especially with the extra playing time.

[Born-a-Panther]

I am sure the coaching staff knew this injury was a possibility before the season began and has a plan in place. Maybe this is why Brown did not redshirt. As long as we can be healthy by St. Louis, and as long as we aren't playing on Thursday, we are still ok.

I agree with this. While many of us questioned at the beginning why Brown was not being redshirted, everyone knew that Crawford was dealing with a stress fracture and that any one of our starting five could very possibly get hurt. We have smart coaches who knew that injuries were possible. Though it's a huge blow and it hurts right now, Coach Mac and staff will find a way to work through it. Lets remember who our coach is and have some faith in our guys.