Boston University men’s basketball junior forward Jake O’Brien, one of the Terriers’ tri-captains and their second leading scorer, will miss the remainder of the 2010-11 season with a foot injury, BU coach Patrick Chambers announced on Monday.
“It was very difficult to hear I wouldn’t be able to play the rest of the season,” O’Brien said in a Facebook message. “I enjoy going out and competing with my teammates on a daily basis. However, things happen and this was the card I was dealt, and I’m confident in our team and the guys have to step up in my absence.”
The former Boston College High School standout and preseason America East all-conference selection fractured the navicular bone in his left foot during a Dec. 31 game at University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
O’Brien will undergo season-ending surgery next week and will be in a cast for eight weeks following the medical procedure. Then he’ll begin his rehab, with an eye toward returning for the start of the 2011-12 campaign.
“Jake is a human being, so I’m sure at first he didn’t take it too well,” Chambers said before the team’s practice on Monday. “I’m sure it was disappointing and a little upsetting. But he also sees the positive in it. He’s going to get bigger and stronger.
“He gets a couple months here where he can live in the weight room, put some pounds on and he’ll be back in a couple months. That’s the positive. That’s what we really want to dwell on – the positives and the solutions.”
O’Brien echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“The news was definitely tough to accept at first, but I know that anything can happen at any given moment, and I have to be grateful to be able to recover from this injury and play again,” O’Brien said. “It has made me appreciate playing the game that much more and to not take it for granted. I look forward to working on my strength in the weight room during my time away from the court.”
A medical redshirt is likely out of the question for the Weymouth native, who appeared in more than 40 percent of BU’s games this season.
“I already looked into it, and it doesn’t look good,” Chambers said. “Fourteen games he played.”
The 2008-2009 AE Rookie of the Year, O’Brien averaged 11.6 points per game and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game through 14 contests. He was also shooting a career-best 42.4 percent from the field, including a 39.4 percent clip from 3-point range.
“When it happened, we felt bad for Jake and we’re disappointed for Jake,” Chambers said. “But we’ve got to move on, and the next guy’s got to be ready to step up. We’ve just got to keep stepping up and that’s what happens with adversity and injuries.”
Losing key players to prolonged injuries has been a recurring theme for the Terriers in Chambers’ two seasons at the helm.
In January 2010, former Terrier captain Tyler Morris injured his shooting hand while diving for a loose ball in practice. BU went 6-2 during Morris’ absence, thanks to key contributions from bench players Valdas Sirutis, Sherrod Smith and Brendan Sullivan.
For the rest of this season, Chambers will be counting upon a variety of low-post and wing players to help fill the void left by O’Brien’s premature departure.
“It’s the same thing that happened last year,” Chambers said. “Tyler Morris goes out for eight games. Then the next guy’s got to step up. Valdas, Sherrod, Brendan Sullivan, those guys stepped up. Same thing this year, [freshman forward] Dominic [Morris has] got to step up and he’s got to be more consistent. [Freshman guard] D.J. Irving’s got to keep doing what he’s doing, and as soon as [freshman forward Travis Robinson] comes back and [freshman guard] Mike Terry, they’ve got to step up.
“We need to come together even more now when adversity strikes, especially with a guy who’s your second leading scorer, who’s a veteran and knows my system and knows what I want to do.”
Moving forward, O’Brien said his role as a captain will remain the same and not be affected by his inability to suit up for the Terriers again this season.
“I plan on being around the team just the same as I was before the injury, so my role as a captain won’t change,” O’Brien said. “I’ll try to use what I see during the course of a game and the course of practices to help guys get better, especially the freshmen.”
With eight games remaining before the conference tournament, and with the fate of the 2010-11 season very much in the balance, Chambers hopes to see his squad continue to learn and grow, even while one of its stars is limited to the bench.
“It’s not easy,” Chambers said. “It’s not easy for any of us, but it’s the hand we’ve been dealt, and we’ve just got to learn from it and move on. [O’Brien’s] going to learn from it. We’ve just got to keep a great attitude and that’s what we’re doing.”
BU (10-13, 5-4 AE) will now look to proceed without O’Brien as it takes on the conference-leading University of Maine (14-7, 8-1 AE) at Agganis Arena Tuesday night. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
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