Three Indiana basketball players will have offseason surgery, Indiana coach Tom Crean said today.
Junior forward Collin Hartman (wrist), sophomore Robert Johnson (ankle) and freshman forward Juwan Morgan (shoulder) all will have offseason surgery, Crean told The Ride with JMV on 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis today.
Morgan will be out the longest, Crean said.
Johnson suffered a high ankle sprain and bone bruise, he said during the NCAA Tournament, on Feb. 20 against Purdue.
Johnson missed four games, returned to start the NCAA Tournament but re-injured it in the second round against Kentucky.
SEE ALSO: Can 2016-17 be the year Indiana advances past the Sweet Sixteen? An early look at next season
"The Johnson injury really hurt us especially after he came back in the tournament and was playing well then got injured again," Crean told JMV. "There was just no way he could really, at the end of the day, push off his foot enough to play any kind of minutes in the game."
Crean said the final decision on Johnson's availability in IU's Sweet Sixteen loss to North Carolina was a medical one.
"It was a doctor's call," Crean said. "Believe me, if we could have played him, we would have. ... As much as Robert wanted to play, there wasn't enough healing to take that risk. ... He's going to be an NBA guard some day."
Crean said IU waited until after the walkthrough the day of the Sweet Sixteen game before making a decision on Johnson's availability.
Morgan's shoulder popped out throughout the season, something he said occurred in high school.
Crean said Morgan's shoulder popped out four of IU's final seven games, including against North Carolina. In the UNC game, the shoulder popped out was put back in, and Morgan returned to the game, Crean said.
SEE ALSO: Scouting report: Is Romeo Langford one of the best prospects from the state of Indiana in years?
Hartman played the final three games with a fractured wrist, Crean said.
"He had such a tough kid and it shows. Collin Hartman had a fractured wrist the last three games of the season," Crean said.
"It caught up with a little bit with his shooting, even though he made a 3 the other night."
Notes
- IU's offseason workouts with James Blackmon Jr., coming off an ACL surgery, and Pittsburgh transfer Josh Newkirk, coming off micro fracture knee surgery, started today, Crean said.
- Crean said he spoke with an NBA general manger about Yogi Ferrell this morning.
SEE ALSO: Here is the full podcast of Crean's interview with JMV.
