Izzo: Ben Carter done for season; Schilling may follow
EAST LANSING – Tom Izzo made it official: Ben Carter is done for the season. Gavin Schilling is close to joining him, too.
The two 6-foot-9 forwards suffered knee injuries in October and had surgery, but their rehabilitations have not yet progressed to the point where they are working on basketball-related activities.
Izzo said he and Schilling and his family have not sat down to finalize the senior sitting out the final two months of this season, getting a medical redshirt and returning next season for a fifth year of eligibility.
“I still think it’s very doubtful,” Izzo said Tuesday. “I don’t know when we’ll make it a definitive answer. In my mind, it’s 99% definitive. I think in his mind it is, too. So I guess we could almost say that his chances of coming back are slim this year.”
Schilling’s turf toe forced him out of the Spartans’ first 11 games of the 2015-16 season, averaging 3.8 points and 3.1 rebounds a game in just 12.5 minutes when he returned. He also battled a bulging disc in his back late in the season.
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There remains a scenario, however, where the Chicago native could decide to return for the Spartans (12-7, 4-2 Big Ten) this season. Izzo said Schilling could opt to come back and then pursue a professional career overseas after it’s complete.
“Gavin’s a unique kid,” Izzo said. “He’s been from Germany and he’s been in Italy. His family has European ties, which means he could be a citizen there. He could go overseas and play. So that’s part of it, too. Does he want to play a month or two and then go? But I think for the most part, if he doesn’t, Gavin will be here.
“And we’ll probably be lucky if he comes back – and I mean that in a positive way, because he had a helluva spring and summer and fall.”
Carter, a graduate transfer, suffered a similar knee injury in late January 2016 after averaging 8.6 points and 6.0 rebounds in 22 games for UNLV.
“Because his is a reoccurring injury, we wouldn’t be able to take a chance,” Izzo said.
Izzo has said MSU plans to approach the NCAA about a sixth-year medical exemption to get Carter back next season, though paperwork cannot begin until after this season. He also said he would be open to having the Las Vegas native back on his staff as a graduate transfer if he does not pursue an overseas playing opportunity.
Bridges mending: Izzo said Monday on WVFN 730-AM in Lansing that Miles Bridges will “play whatever he can play” this week after being limited to playing increments of 3-4 minutes since returning from his left ankle injury. The freshman forward played 32 minutes in Sunday’s loss at Ohio State, matching a career high with 24 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
“Zero. There’s been no pain in his ankle,” Izzo said Tuesday. “There’s been no issues in any way shape or form before, during or after a game. So conventional wisdom says speed the process.”
Bowen nearing choice: Saginaw native Brian Bowen, a senior at La Lumiere School in Indiana, told Scout.com that he will attend MSU’s game against Michigan on Jan. 29 and make his college decision shortly afterward. The 6-7, 190-pound forward, a consensus five-star recruit ranked No. 13 in the nation by ESPN.com, has listed MSU, Arizona, UCLA, Texas, Creighton and North Carolina State as his final six choices. His La Lumiere teammate, Jaren Jackson Jr., is a 2017 Spartan signee.
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