Penn State G Claxton has torn ACL

Jan 16, 2008 - 6:25 AM STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania (Ticker) -- Penn State was dealt an even bigger blow than the one that No. 17 Wisconsin gave them in the standings.

Nittany Lions leading scorer and rebounder Geary Claxton suffered what is being diagnosed as a torn ACL in his left knee during Tuesday's 80-55 loss against the Badgers.

The senior Claxton, who was ranked second in the Big 10 in scoring at 18.7 points and leading the team in rebounding at 8.9 rebounds coming into the game, came down awkwardly after attempting a fallaway jumper early in the first half.

The West Haven, Connecticut native is scheduled to have an MRI on Wednesday to confirm the extent of the injury.

"The full extent of the injury cannot be fully determined yet," Penn State director of athletic medicine Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli said. "He clearly has an injury to the ACL and what we need to see is if there are any secondary injuries like damage to the meniscus or cartilage.

"From all the physical testing, it looks like he has a tear to the ACL. Most of the time (with an injury like this), you are looking at six months to get back to training hard, and then anywhere from 3-6 months of game preparation."

Claxton led Penn State in scoring in each of his first three seasons with the Nittany Lions and ranks fifth all-time on the school scoring list (1,542 points) and fourth all-time in rebounding (755).

"I just took time to tell him I loved him and hugged him," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "You know he has been a great kid for us for the 3 1/2 years he has been with us. He was a great ballplayer, great student, a great person for our program. I just feel horrible for him. I really can't put it in words.

"He has worked really hard. He wanted to do great things this year. He could have done some great things for us."