When will Shockers return to full strength? Paul Mills has answer with injury updates
The Wichita State men’s basketball team still hasn’t played a game this season with its full complement of players.
That will continue to be true in the near term, although WSU head coach Paul Mills revealed Tuesday when the Shockers might be back to full strength with injury updates for three players currently missing in action.
Mills confirmed senior forward Ronnie DeGray III, who suffered a fractured wrist in a Nov. 18 game against Monmouth, underwent a successful surgery in Wichita last Wednesday and remains on the same timeline with a potential return date for Jan. 3 at Temple, the team’s first game in American Athletic Conference play.
WSU senior center Zane Meeks, who had a knee scope prior to the season to repair a meniscus injury and has not played yet this season, remains optimistic he will also return in time for conference play in January — “if not sooner,” Mills added.
Meanwhile, freshman T.J. Williams has also not played in a game yet due to a meniscus injury suffered before the season, but has recently returned to practice. He has not been cleared for full-contact drills yet, but Mills did report Tuesday that the Wichita native is able to participate in around 65% of practice.
“So if everything goes well and we don’t have any more injuries,” Mills said, “we should have a full roster probably by the middle of January.”
The absence of DeGray, a power forward, and Meeks, who can play the power forward or center position, has left WSU shorthanded with its frontcourt depth.
DeGray averaged 9.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in 24.3 minutes off the bench for WSU in its first three games of the season. The 6-foot-6 senior forward was expected to play a key role for the team this season with his versatility on defense and his tenacious effort in rebounding. WSU has sorely missed his physicality.
Since the injury was to his left wrist, DeGray has been able to practice form shooting with his right hand since Sunday’s practice.
“Once he gets to about 40% range of motion, he’ll be able to participate in some things,” Mills said on his radio show on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Meeks was recruited by WSU to be a difference-maker on the perimeter at the center position. Meeks (6-foot-9, 231 pounds) isn’t as big as Quincy Ballard (6-11, 251) or Matej Bosnjak (6-9, 240), but stands out by his ability to stretch defenses with his 3-point shooting ability.
A history of knee injuries has limited Meeks to only 110 games the past five seasons, but the Kansas City native has knocked down 132 career 3-pointers at a 34.4% clip.
“Zane is an optimistic kid,” Mills said on his radio show. “He told he was going to be ready for a game in December. I said, ‘Let’s just wait and see.’ But I do think somewhere at the beginning of the new year we’ll get an opportunity to get Zane back practicing with us and get him in.”
While DeGray and Meeks are veteran college basketball players, Williams is in his first year of Division I basketball and figures to be a redshirt candidate with the injury delaying his practice time so far.
Mills has publicly stated that the team has not discussed redshirting with Williams, as the coaching staff wants to see him back in practice at full strength before making that determination.
This story was originally published December 4, 2024 at 8:02 AM.
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