Syracuse center DaJuan Coleman will undergo season-ending surgery on his left knee.

After starting the first 12 games for the No. 2 Orange, the sophomore said he bruised the side of his left knee during practice and was limited to only six minutes in the team’s 78-62 win over Villanova on Dec. 28.

Since then, Coleman has not started the Orange’s last six games, only seeing the floor for three minutes in the team’s 72-52 win against Virginia Tech on Jan. 7.

“This is a tremendous disappointment, especially considering the amount of hard work DaJuan has been putting in with our basketball team,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said in a statement. “We will certainly miss his contributions.”

Coleman was averaging 4.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game this season. He missed eight games last season with an MCL injury to the same knee.

SU Athletics spokesman Pete Moore said Coleman’s injury this year is a bone bruise and is not believed to be related to the MCL issue.

Moore does not expect Coleman to be granted a medical redshirt. NCAA bylaw 14.2.4.3.4 states that to be eligible for a medical hardship waiver, a player cannot play in 30 percent of a team’s games and the injury must occur before the first competition of the second half of the season in conjunction with the NCAA Tournament. Coleman has played in 13 games this season.

Junior center Rakeem Christmas has filled in for Coleman in the middle of Syracuse’s 2-3 zone while sophomore forward Jerami Grant has started five of the last six games, posting 12 points and 7.8 rebounds in that span.

Published on January 20, 2014 at 5:16 pm

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