Saturday, February 26, 2000
XAVIER NOTEBOOK
Price focused on game, not pain
BY MICHAEL PERRY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Lloyd Price's shoulder hurts. Every single day. After practice. After games. That's the way it's going to be for the rest of the season.
The Xavier sophomore, however, refuses to use that as an excuse.
“The easy thing to say is I'm hurt, I'm banged up, I can't finish the season strong,” Price said Friday. “But a player will go out there and do what he's supposed to do to help win the game.”
Price had 16 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday night's victory over George Washington. The previous two games, he averaged just eight points and three rebounds.
Inflammation in his left shoulder has caused rotator cuff tendinitis, trainer David Fluker said. Price is expected to have surgery after the season; he had surgery on his right shoulder after last season.
Price is also still bothered by the finger he dislocated Feb. 5 at George Washington. The stitches came out last week, but Price still can't bend it enough to close his hand.
“I don't want to blame my last couple performances on my arm,” Price said. “It was hurting when I had 28 (points) and 11 (rebounds) against UMass. The biggest thing is I've got to stop worrying about it. That's all. But it's hard; I'm not going to lie and say it's not.”
EXPLORING THE EXPLORERS: Three offensive weapons have not been enough for LaSalle this season.
The Explorers, who play host to Xavier on Sunday, were picked in the preseason to finish second in the Atlantic 10 West by the league's media and coaches. But they are just 10-14, 4-9 and in fifth place in the West.
One of the big problems has been shooting. LaSalle has shot only 50 percent or better twice all season (at Villanova, vs. George Washington). It has shot less than 40 percent 13 times.
“We're just not getting a lot of consistency from our scorers,” coach Speedy Morris said.
Donnie Carr (17.5 ppg), the team's leading scorer for three years, missed five games earlier in the season with pneumonia. He has scored in double figures the past nine games, and had 20 points or more in six of those. Carr has played all 40 minutes of three of LaSalle's last four games.
Victor Thomas (16.4) has averaged just 13 points a game while shooting 40.7 percent from the field over the last six games. He has played all 40 minutes of the last four games.
Rasual Butler (18.5) was co-player of the week in the Atlantic 10 last week and has 20.8 points and 6.3 rebounds over the last four games.
Those three players alone outscored Xavier 57-49 on Jan.23.
NATIONAL THOUGHTS: In Sports Illustrated's Inside College Basketball section this week, Xavier is listed as a team “On the bubble (and looking bad)” along with fellow A-10 member St. Bonaventure, which plays host to XU on Wednesday night.
It could be worse. The magazine listed eight schools under “Out (barring a miracle)” including A-10 member Massachusetts, UCLA, Michigan, Iowa and once-mightly Georgetown.
SKIP A WEEK: There will be no Skip Prosser radio show Sunday night because the Musketeers will be traveling from Philadelphia after their 2 p.m. game at LaSalle.
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