Sunday, February 06, 2000
Camara beginning rehab for foot
UK NOTEBOOK
BY NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Jules Camara's foot isn't broken. Perhaps Kentucky's postseason hopes aren't, either.
The key to UK's season may be how soon and how well the sophomore forward returns. His rehabilitation program — which includes running in place in a pool — is designed to help him hit the ground running later.
“The important thing is to approximate the conditioning of everyday practice so he'll be up to speed when he's ready to go back,” UK Athletic Trainer David Kindy said.
Camara has been diagnosed with a “stress reaction” in the third metatarsal (middle toe) in his right foot. That's worse than a bruise but not as bad as a break. The foot was stepped on in UK's game Tuesday against Tennessee.
Camara is expected to miss 2-to-4 weeks. He will have two conditioning sessions a day: aquatic work in the morning for an hour and bicycling and upper-body work in the afternoon for the length of UK's practices.
Stone in demand
The obvious beneficiary of Camara's absence is freshman center Marvin Stone. Stone played 17 minutes Saturday, his most in Southeastern Conference play, totaling four points and three rebounds.
“I knew my time was coming,” Stone said. “I've been patient, waiting for my chance. I knew I'd get more minutes, and I'm ready to help out.”
Stone committed three turnovers Saturday.
“I played OK,” he said. “I made some mental mistakes.”
UK coach Tubby Smith was more forgiving.
“Marvin gave us quality play,” he said. “He played intelligently and made the right decisions.”
SEC the best?
South Carolina's Eddie Fogler has coached 10 games since New Year's, eight of them against ranked teams. That speaks, he said, to the depth of the SEC.
“We've got a decent team, and we're 1-8 in the league,” Fogler said. “We've got a heck of a league. It's the best in the country.”
The SEC has six teams ranked this week in the Top 25 of both major polls for the first time in conference history. That's one shy of the Associated Press record of seven shared by the Big Ten (1993, 1999) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (1997).
Up next
UK visits No.12 Florida at 9p.m. Tuesday (ESPN2). The Gators are 17-4 (6-2 SEC).
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