The euphoria of San Diego State’s short-handed win against preseason No. 22 UCLA in a closed-door scrimmage was greeted by a splash of cold water two days later.
The results of a CT scan revealed that senior guard Reese Waters, the Aztecs’ top returning scorer and only member on the preseason all-conference team, has a navicular stress fracture in his right foot and will miss six to eight weeks, and perhaps longer.
The 6-foot-6 Waters has been sidelined for more than a week with a foot issue and didn’t play against UCLA. An X-ray was negative, an MRI was inconclusive, and the CT scan finally showed the stress reaction in the navicular – a boat-shaped bone in the mid-foot that helps transfer force from the ankle to forefoot.
The plan now: Put it in a protective boot for five weeks, then re-evaluate.
Even if Waters is cleared to play then, it would probably take another week or so to get him game fit.
The good news: Doctors opted against surgery.
“If they thought surgery was the best course, I think they would have done it,” coach Brian Dutcher said. “They thought this is his best chance to heal up and get ready to go. But you can’t put a timeline on how fast he heals and how quickly he gets back to a point where he can play basketball. I never rush that process.”
Waters, SDSU’s most experienced returnee off a Sweet 16 team, averaged 9.6 points per game last season, including 22 in the win at Gonzaga and a career-high 24 against Cal. The USC transfer opened the season by making 43 straight free throws, best in the nation.
He was expected to start in the backcourt alongside redshirt sophomore Miles Byrd and Florida Atlantic transfer Nick Boyd, who’s had his own foot issues. Boyd spent two-plus months in a protective boot and only now is participating in limited practice drills.
Waters likely will miss all six games in November, which includes No. 6 Gonzaga, No. 15 Creighton, Oregon and one other in the blockbuster Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.
The Mountain West opener is at Fresno State on Dec. 4, or six weeks from now. That’s followed by home dates against USD (Dec. 7) and Cal Baptist (Dec. 11) before a 10-day break for finals.
Next up is a neutral-court game against Cal in San Jose on Dec. 21, which is 8½ weeks away. The conference home opener, Dec. 28 against Utah State, is 9½ weeks away.
“We scrimmaged UCLA without three or four guys and played pretty well,” Dutcher said of the 72-67 win Sunday at Pauley Pavilion. “Obviously we’re at our best when Reese is on the floor. But the encouraging thing is hopefully we’ll get him back on the floor.
“Over the years, of all the teams in our conference, we’ve been able to survive injury more than anyone. We’ve got good players in this program. We want to be at 100% and be healthy, but we can’t sit there and obsess if we’re not. We’ve got players. It’s the cliché: next man up.”
That likely means more minutes for sophomore BJ Davis, who appeared in only 12 games last season and scored 14 total points but exploded for 28 in the UCLA scrimmage with Waters, Boyd and USD transfer guard Wayne McKinney III all sidelined.
“BJ got an opportunity because all the other guys were hurt, and he made the most of his opportunity,” Dutcher said. “That’s what sports are all about. When given an opportunity, what do you do with that opportunity?”
McKinney III provides veteran relief, assuming he can shake the nagging hamstring problem that has twice sidelined him during the preseason. So does Brown grad transfer Kimo Ferrari, who can stretch defenses with his 3-point range. Freshman Taj DeGourville started against UCLA and played 34 minutes, finishing with five points and four rebounds (and only one turnover).
“It seems like it’s forever,” Dutcher said, “but most teams around the country would say, if we get one of our best players back by conference, that’s really good. … Now it’s the healing process. We’ll do another CT scan in five weeks and see what it looks like.”
