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Vanderbeken may redshirt
Litany of injuries has hampered 6-foot-11 forward
By Bobby La Gesse
Date Posted: 2010-01-07
ST. CHARLES, Ill. — Iowa State forward Jamie Vanderbeken may not be on the verge of his final Big 12 campaign after all.
With the Cyclones to start conference play after hosting North Dakota State on Saturday (3 p.m. ESPNU), they are toying with the idea of redshirting Vanderbeken.
Vanderbeken has dealt with a series of injuries and only played in 10 games.
“What we have to investigate is if there is a possibility of the potential of a medical redshirt,” ISU coach Greg McDermott said.
Vanderbeken broke his foot trying out for the Great Britain national team over the summer. The injury slowed him at the start of the year, but Vanderbeken was optimistic heading into the season.
“I’m a little behind conditioning-wise and skill-wise,” Vanderbeken said in October. “But with a little extra work I should be fine. I don’t think this will derail my season.”
But then he suffered a knee injury and slipped on ice and sprained his ankle. He saw four minutes of action against Duke on Wednesday. It was his first action since Dec. 11.
To be eligible for a redshirt, an athlete can only play in 30 percent of a team’s contests. ISU will play at least 32 games – the number could rise depending on how many Big 12 Tournament and possibly postseason tournament games the Cyclones play – and Vanderbeken has played in 31 percent of those contests.
McDermott said he has to talk to Vanderbeken and the ISU medical staff before any decision is made.
“We’ve got to meet with our team doctor and our head trainer, Vic Miller, and determine if we can get Jamie back to where he can practice consistently and be able to have more of an impact on game night, and right now he is not himself,” McDermott said.
Stranded in Chicago
A snow storm kept ISU from returning to Ames after playing Duke on Wednesday. The Cyclones hope to get back on Friday and have some sort of practice before facing the Bison a day later.
“We will get the guys out of the hotel a little bit and go across the street to a movie or something,” McDermott said. “We’ll watch some film tonight both of last year’s game and of North Dakota State.”
Game plan going ahead
McDermott said he likes the way forwards Marquis Gilstrap and Craig Brackins have played together and wants to spend practice time – whenever that may be – getting them in positions to score.
“They play well together on the floor,” McDermott said. “They get along well together off the floor, so we’ve got to do a better job of finding ways to get them more touches consistently.”
Bobby La Gesse can be reached at (515) 663-6929 or rlagesse@amestrib.com.
Litany of injuries has hampered 6-foot-11 forward
By Bobby La Gesse
Date Posted: 2010-01-07
Iowa State's Jamie Vanderbeken has played in 10 of the Cyclones' 14 games while battling injuries.
Tribune file photo by Nirmalendu Majumdar
Tribune file photo by Nirmalendu Majumdar
ST. CHARLES, Ill. — Iowa State forward Jamie Vanderbeken may not be on the verge of his final Big 12 campaign after all.
With the Cyclones to start conference play after hosting North Dakota State on Saturday (3 p.m. ESPNU), they are toying with the idea of redshirting Vanderbeken.
Vanderbeken has dealt with a series of injuries and only played in 10 games.
“What we have to investigate is if there is a possibility of the potential of a medical redshirt,” ISU coach Greg McDermott said.
Vanderbeken broke his foot trying out for the Great Britain national team over the summer. The injury slowed him at the start of the year, but Vanderbeken was optimistic heading into the season.
“I’m a little behind conditioning-wise and skill-wise,” Vanderbeken said in October. “But with a little extra work I should be fine. I don’t think this will derail my season.”
But then he suffered a knee injury and slipped on ice and sprained his ankle. He saw four minutes of action against Duke on Wednesday. It was his first action since Dec. 11.
To be eligible for a redshirt, an athlete can only play in 30 percent of a team’s contests. ISU will play at least 32 games – the number could rise depending on how many Big 12 Tournament and possibly postseason tournament games the Cyclones play – and Vanderbeken has played in 31 percent of those contests.
McDermott said he has to talk to Vanderbeken and the ISU medical staff before any decision is made.
“We’ve got to meet with our team doctor and our head trainer, Vic Miller, and determine if we can get Jamie back to where he can practice consistently and be able to have more of an impact on game night, and right now he is not himself,” McDermott said.
Stranded in Chicago
A snow storm kept ISU from returning to Ames after playing Duke on Wednesday. The Cyclones hope to get back on Friday and have some sort of practice before facing the Bison a day later.
“We will get the guys out of the hotel a little bit and go across the street to a movie or something,” McDermott said. “We’ll watch some film tonight both of last year’s game and of North Dakota State.”
Game plan going ahead
McDermott said he likes the way forwards Marquis Gilstrap and Craig Brackins have played together and wants to spend practice time – whenever that may be – getting them in positions to score.
“They play well together on the floor,” McDermott said. “They get along well together off the floor, so we’ve got to do a better job of finding ways to get them more touches consistently.”
Bobby La Gesse can be reached at (515) 663-6929 or rlagesse@amestrib.com.
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