Pe'Shon Howard Injury: Maryland Guard Out For Season With Torn ACL

Maryland Terrapins guard Pe'Shon Howard had a rough start to his season, and sadly the year will end in an even rougher manner than it begin. Howard, who missed the first nine game of the Terrapins season with a broken foot, tore his ACL in practice Thursday and will miss the remainder of the year.

Via Jeff Barker of the Baltimore Sun, head coach Mark Turgeon had this to say about the loss of his point guard:

"We're heartbroken for Pe'Shon," said Turgeon in a written statement. "He's done everything we've asked of him this season and he was playing very well. Obviously it's been a tough year for him, but he's a great kid."

After returning from the broken foot, Howard was averaging 6.5 points per game and had amassed 52 assists, the most on the team. His ACL tear means Nick Faust and Terrell Stoglin will have to go back to sharing point guard duties.

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Maryland Terrapins point guard Pe'Shon Howard will make his season debut Friday against the Radford Highlanders, coach Mark Turgeon said, according to Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com. The 6-foot-3 sophomore has missed the entire season with a broken foot suffered in preseason workouts, forcing Terrell Stoglin, a natural shooting guard, to log heavy minutes at the point.

The initial recovery estimates of 10-12 weeks projected Howard to return sometime in January, so the Oak Hill Academy product is well ahead of schedule. Still, Turgeon has previously mentioned the Radford contest as a target for Howard's return.

As a freshman, Howard averaged 5.4 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists on 42.3 percent shooting. His career-high in scoring stands at 14 points, set against the Charleston Cougars and Boston College Eagles.

Behind Stoglin's ACC-leading 22.2 points per game, the Terrapins' record stands at 6-3. Their conference schedule begins Jan. 8 against the NC State Wolfpack.

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Maryland Terrapins point guard Pe'Shon Howard will likely return to the lineup for the team's Dec. 23 game against the Radford Highlanders, coach Mark Turgeon said Tuesday, according to Jakob Engelke. "If that's what the kid's decided, then yeah, [he'll return]," Turgeon said. Howard broke a bone in his left foot during preseason workouts and has yet to play in 2011/12.

Howard told CBS Sports on Saturday "I should be back at 100 percent with no hesitation" for the Radford game. The Terps' ACC season begins Jan. 8 against the N.C. State Wolfpack, meaning Howard--even if he misses his target return date of Dec. 23--could still return in time to play in each of Maryland's conference games.

Howard averaged 5.4 points and 3.2 assists as a freshman in 2010/11 and ranked No. 4 on the team in three-point accuracy, nailing 35.9 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. Terrell Stoglin has shouldered the load in Howard's absence this season, scoring 22.5 points per game; second-leading scorer Sean Mosley posts 10.8 per contest.

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When Pe'Shon Howard first broke his foot, the estimated date of his return was some time between 10 and 12 weeks. Now, with a few weeks to collect data and a new MRI, the guard isn't expected to come back in any less than 12 weeks, according to Liz Clarke of the Washington Post.

It has been an emotional preseason for the Terps, who lost their starting point guard, Pe’Shon Howard, last week to a broken foot. Turgeon said Thursday that a recent MRI suggested Howard will miss 12 weeks, the maximum initially forecast. That would delay his return until the Jan. 25 game against Duke, five games into the ACC season.

Howard was resy to be the starting point guard for the Terps, and his absence will hinder their offense in a number of ways.First, they will be without their primary ballhandler and playmaker, and secondly, they will now have to put their best scorer (Terrell Stoglin) in that role. With Howard in the lineup, the rest of it just kind of slides into place. Without him, Mark Turgeon and the staff have a lot of work to do.

Pe'Shon Howard's foot injury is expected to sideline him for 10-12 weeks, which would allow the Maryland basketball guard to return early in ACC play in January. However, in an interview with reporters during Maryland's scrimmage on Saturday, Howard said he'd be open to missing the entire season and taking a medical redshirt if it helped the team. Via Liz Clarke of the Washington Post.

"If I redshirt, that gives me another year in College Park, and I love College Park," said Howard, a Los Angeles native. "I love college. I could be here forever, really. If they gave me 10 redshirts, I’d be fine. It’s all about what the team needs."

The Terps only have seven scholarship players, so they could probably use Howard this year rather than next year. Then again, if the Terps are struggling, it may not make sense to rush Howard back if the team isn't going anywhere this season.

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In response to the broken foot Pe'Shon Howard suffered in practice, Maryland Terrapins coach Ralph Turgeon will install Terrell Stoglin at point guard, reports Liz Clarke of the Washington Post. Naturally, moving Stoglin to point guard raises several other questions, including who will serve as his backup at the position, Turgeon told Clarke in a telephone interview.

Howard is one of just three returning Terrapins who have started at least one game. He averaged 5.4 points and 3.2 assists last season. Stoglin, a natural shooting guard, averaged 11.4 points and 3.3 assists during the 2010/11 campaign. Turnovers have proven troublesome for Stoglin, however, as he committed 2.3 per game last season. Howard, at 1.7 per game, is more surehanded.

The injury to Howard leaves Maryland with just Stoglin, Sean Mosley, little-used sophomore Mychal Parker, and freshman Nick Faust to man the backcourt.

For more on Howard's injury, visit this StoryStream. For more on the Terps, visit Testudo Times.

Maryland basketball point guard Pe'Shon Howard's injury is expected to sideline him for 10-12 weeks, the school announced in a press release. A broken foot is not an easy injury from which to recover, so take this dose of optimism with a grain of salt. However, if the injury timeline is correct, it looks like Howard will be able to play through most of the ACC season.

It all depends on whether Howard can recover at the early part of his projected timeline. If he can come back to the court in 10 weeks, that would allow him to play potentially as soon as the January 8 ACC opener against North Carolina State. If that is too aggressive, he could also return for the January 11 game at home against Wake Forest. If, however, Howard can only return to the court in 12 weeks, he will miss potentially the first four games of the ACC schedule and return for the January 25 game against Duke.

In other words, it looks like Howard will miss anywhere between one and four ACC games at this point, in addition to the non-conference season. A lot can change, of course, but that's a small dose of optimism for a Terps team that is running out of bodies.

For more on Howard's injury, visit this StoryStream. For more on the Terps, visit Testudo Times.