KANSAS CITY – Kevin Pritchard has had injuries before, but nothing like this.
“I feel terrible. I want to be out there,” said Pritchard, who suffered a knee sprain in the first half of Kansas’ 74-58 first-round Big Eight tournament win over Oklahoma State and never returned.
“I’ve had nagging injuries before,” Pritchard continued, “but I’ve never sat out before.”
Pritchard, who limped off the court with 5:44 remaining in the opening period, wasn’t exactly sure how he injured his right knee.
“I came down on it wrong,” he said. “It happened so fast.”
According to KU trainer Mark Cairns, Pritchard will not play in today’s semifinal game against Kansas State, and would probably miss Sunday’s final if the Jayhawks advance that far.
“I’m not too optimistic about him playing this weekend,” Cairns said. “As far as the NCAA Tournament, I don’t think that will be any problem.”
The Jayhawks were on top 18-13 when Pritchard fell to the floor and grabbed his knee. Shortly before he went down, Pritchard potted a three-pointer that gave the Jayhawks an 18-11 lead.
“He said he got hit on the outside of the knee and twisted it at the same time,” Cairns said.
Pritchard was helped to the locker room for examination. He sat on the end of the KU bench in the second half with an ice pack on his sore knee.
KU coach Larry Brown was obviously disappointed about Pritchard’s injury. However he was pleased with the performance of reserves Scooter Barry and Clint Normore, who combined for six points and four assists in Pritchard’s absence.
“It’s tough losing Kevin, but the kids came through,” Brown said. “Our bench was outstanding.”
Pritchard has confidence his teammates can do the job in today’s semifinal.
“I think Clint and Scooter will step forward,” Pritchard said. “I know they can do it.”
Still, Pritchard wishes he could be in the lineup.
“I fell like I let the team down,” he said. “If there’s any chance, I’ll be out there.”
In 15 minutes of action Friday, Pritchard contributed five points, three assists and one steal.
After Pritchard’s exit, Barry took over for the remainder of the first half while Normore, who replaced Pritchard in the starting lineup, shared the point-guard duties with Barry in the second half.
“I was ready to go in,” Normore said. “I just hoped Kevin wasn’t hurt seriously. WE’ve had enough adversity without Kevin going down. But we’ve gone through adversity before and we’ve been able to handle it.”
