Zhuric Phelps progressing through injury toward return for SMU
SMU freshman guard Zhuric Phelps is continuing to recover from a quad injury sustained against Tulsa on February 23. The awkward injury going up for a dunk in Moody Coliseum cost Phelps a chance to play at Houston, a 75-61 loss on Sunday.
Head coach Tim Jankovich updated the status of Zhuric Phelps on Monday on The Fast Track with Tim Jankovich.
“Getting better. That was a scary moment to say the least,” Jankovich said on his weekly radio show with Rich Phillips. “I thought it was worse because he was in a lot of pain. He really was. I was worried that he had done some real knee damage. Turns out it was not a knee injury. It’s a tendon situation and it’s healing pretty fast. I would say not quite day to day, but we’re hoping he’ll get back soon.
“Don’t want to rush him. Don’t want anybody to play injured, but there’s real progress being made. Way faster than I would have expected. He’s a tough young man. He’s gonna battle as fast as he can.”
Zhuric Phelps a disruptive piece for SMU
When the Duncanville, Texas native is on the floor for SMU, he has a tendency to get in passing lanes and disrupt opposing teams. Jankovich was scouting Cincinnati and Phelps popped onto the screen multiple times. Phelps didn’t record a point or rebound in the first outing in seven minutes though.
“For one thing, he’s got an amazing knack of getting his hands on balls,” Jankovich said. “He’s got a gift. He really does. I was watching film of our game, our opponent coming up, and there he was again, getting the hand on the ball. Just every time you look up, he figures out a way. He’s a great anticipator, hard nosed, a good penetrator. His shooting has gotten better. He’s a real factor for us so of course, yeah, we missed him and hope that he gets back soon.”
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Zhurcic Phelps is shooting 40 percent from the field, averaging 4.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game for the Mustangs.
Against Cincinnati on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT, the Mustangs have a chance to bounce back. SMU could wish and hope for the best seed possible in the AAC Tournament, but Jankovich isn’t operating that way.
“Here’s what I know, we have a game on Thursday and we need to play like crazy Thursday,” Jankovich said. “That is the only thing that I have on my mind. Don’t care about anything else. I’m not trying to wish and hope for somebody else because that’s fool’s gold, too. So, we just got to do the best that we can.”
The Mustangs take on the Bearcats on ESPNU in Moody Coliseum, where the team is perfect this season. The team wraps up its regular season slate against Tulane on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.
