NC State welcomed the return of redshirt junior power forward Jack Clark on Saturday, but the return of injured senior center Dusan Mahorcic has gotten murkier.
Clark injured his groin in flukish fashion toward the end of the Clemson loss Dec. 30. He missed the next 10 games with the Wolfpack going 8-2 during that stretch. Clark checked in with 1:45 left in the first half and ended up making a pair of three-pointers, plus grabbing four rebounds in 10 minutes played in Saturday’s 92-62 win over Boston College. Clark’s ability to stretch the defense could be needed Tuesday at Syracuse, with the Orange playing zone on defense.
“I thought he did a good job in his limited amount of minutes,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “Obviously, his conditioning is nowhere we want it to be.”
Clark told Keatts he felt pretty good following the game. He had been practicing with the Wolfpack, and had warmed up for a few games prior to the BC contest.
“With his type of injury, a wrong movement at practice could set him back a little bit,” Keatts said. “It was good to get him back on the floor. You kind of forget how well he rebounds the basketball, even in a little amount of time.”
The 6-10, 225-pound Mahorcic seemingly had settled into a solid role at his fifth college, but then suffered a painful knee injury against Coppin State on Dec. 6. Complicating matters is that Mahorcic had suffered a similar injury a year ago while playing at Utah.
“He’s not available,” Keatts said. “I want to be realistic about it. I am not even sure if he’s going to return this year. He’s going back and forth.
“We are hopeful and grateful, but I don’t know where that is going to end up at.”
Keatts called the situation "50-50" on whether he’d be back before postseason play begins. The Wolfpack have five regular season games remaining. He had been averaging 8.7 points and 6.6 rebounds in 20.7 minutes per game.
“It’s a challenge because he is working really hard, as hard as anyone I’ve ever had to try and get back from an injury ,” Keatts said. “I certainly hope it happens for him. I don’t want the expectations to be ‘Hey, he’s definitely coming back.’”
Follow on Twitter:
@NCStateRivals or @JaceyZembal
Subscribe for free on YouTube:
For Jacey Zembal or The Wolfpack Central
Like on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/TheWolfpackCentral
Follow on Instagram:
ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS: Our NETWORK-WIDE, all-access pass allows you to read every premium message board in the Rivals.com network as part of a bundled add-on to your subscription!
Subscribers can add the All-Access Pass or a 3-Site Bundle in your account profile, under the Subscriptions tab: HERE
