What does Malik Abu’s knee injury mean for NC State?

As you’re probably aware, Malik Abu suffered a grade 2 sprain of his MCL. We went into detail about the injury and timetable last night, but we didn’t really get into how it will affect NC State’s schedule and their rotation.

Will Abu be back in time for the matchup with #5 Arizona?

We have been told by a source close to the program that early expectations are Malik missing 4-6 weeks. If that timetable ends up being correct, then he would return sometime in late November or early December.

If Abu were to miss the minimum of 4 weeks, it would bring him back to the court the very same day NC State faces their first true test in #5 Arizona (part of the ‘Battle for Atlantis’ tournament in the Bahamas). If he were to miss the maximum of 6 weeks it would have him back to play UKMC at the PNC on December 8th.

This is only speculation, as every player heals at their own pace and reacts differently to rehab. If you want our best guess it’s that you will see Abu back closer to a 6-8 week time frame. The reason we say that is because Keatts knows Abu has dreams of playing in the NBA and he also knows that what really matters is ACC play.

This Wolfpack team isn’t going to be a Top 10 team in the nation, but they could surprise some people if all the pieces come together. Obviously, that would include a healthy Abu. They need him 100% when ACC play starts, and that will certainly be a part of the thinking when it comes time to let him back on the court.

Now that we’ve talked timeframe, let’s talk rotation.

Keatts already acknowledged in his media day press conference that he didn’t think there would be a way to play Abu, Freeman, and Yurtseven at the same time. So with Abu out, it becomes obvious that you’re going to see a starting lineup with Lennard Freeman and Omer Yurtseven. Those guys will be backed up by Darius Hicks and possibly Tucker Thompson.

There is also the chance that this could open up Keatts to play a lot more ‘4 guard – 1 big’ lineups. For instance, You could see a Markell Johnson, Lavar Batts, Al Freman, Torin Dorn, and Yurtseven or Freeman. Keatts frequently played a small lineup at UNCW and is not afraid to put out a quick group that can really handle the ball and get up and down the floor.

At the end of the day, losing Abu is going to hurt, but there is some silver lining. His absence will give minutes to guys who likely wouldn’t have seen many. This is always a plus since these are the types of guys you want ready late in the season if an emergency situation arises.

You also have to look at it like this. This could have been way worse. There are tons of tons of examples of guys coming back full strength after an MCL sprain. In fact, there are examples of guys coming back 100% after a full MCL rupture (which is much worse than what Abu suffered.)

This will provide a challenge for Kevin Keatts and the Wolfpack, but it will be a challenge that makes them a better team at the end of the day.