Less than two minutes into their game against Seattle on Sunday night, the Washington Huskies saw 6-foot-10 redshirt sophomore forward Jernard Jarreau go down with a knee injury after being fouled on a layup attempt. And on Wednesday the school announced that its worst fears were realized, as Jarreau will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee.
Jarreau’s injury left the Huskies down two front court players for much of that game, with San Francisco transfer Perris Blackwell missing the game after suffering a concussion in Washington’s exhibition victory over Central Washington. Losing Jarreau is a tough blow for Lorenzo Romar’s team, especially when considering the optimism regarding the forward’s development during the offseason.
In the exhibition win over Central Washington, Jarreau scored 17 points (to go along with nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks) and was considered to be one of the players capable of supplementing the scoring provided by fifth-year senior guard and leading scorer C.J. Wilcox. With Jarreau and Desmond Simmons both out of the lineup (Simmons is expected to miss six to eight weeks of action), this could result in more playing time for Gilles Dierickx as the Huskies navigate non-conference play.
Next up for Washington is a home game on Thursday against UC Irvine, a team that includes three players who are at least 7-feet tall. The Huskies will also play non-conference games against Indiana, UConn (the two could meet twice based upon what happens in the 2K Sports Classic later this month), San Diego State and Tulane, with the last scheduled as a homecoming game for the New Orleans native.
The fact Romar & @UW_MBB scheduled the Dec. 17 game at Tulane specifically for Jernard Jarreau's homecoming makes his ACL tear even tougher
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) November 13, 2013
Washington opens Pac-12 play on January 2nd at Arizona State.