HOOP NEWS: McCoy done for the year

[PonyPride]

A knee injury suffered in Tuesday's loss at Southern Miss has ended the sophomore season of SMU guard Paul McCoy.

McCoy hurt his right knee without getting hit, and knew right away something serious was wrong.

"I just took a bad step, I guess — I didn't get pushed or anything," McCoy said Thursday. "I felt it tear, and grabbed my knee."

McCoy was helped from the court, and flew home with his teammates wearing a knee brace borrowed from Southern Miss. He learned the results of an MRI Thursday afternoon, detailing the extent of the damage to his knee: a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a sprained posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and a torn meniscus.

"I couldn't move my leg," McCoy said of his first thoughts after the injury. "I was just hoping it was not what I thought it was in the back of my head. I wished it was something else."

McCoy said he has never suffered a major injury before; the worst he could remember was a pulled groin muscle suffered during a middle school football game.

McCoy's immediate future revolves around "pre-hab" — a series of exercise and training sessions designed to strengthen the muscles around the knee before he undergoes surgery, which will take place in two or three weeks. The recovery and rehabilitation after the surgery is estimated to take six to eight months, meaning that depending on how fast he heals, he might be ready for the 2010-11 season.

"I was upset, I was emotional — I cried when I realized what I thought it was," he said. "But all I can do now is look at the positives: I finally get to rest my body; I get to study the game more now, watch film and see everything from a different perspective.

"Aside from that, I'm just going to work my way back to where I was."

[PonyTales]

Man, that's rough news.
Hang in there, Paul. PonyFans everywhere are pulling for you.
Good job on the story, webguys.

[Pony Up]

So sorry to hear this — Paul is my favorite player to watch in recent years, and he's had a rough season.
Take this time to rest, study and have fun, and come back stronger and better than ever!