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Temple's Brown suffers Achilles injury; timetable uncertain

05/23/2016, 1:45pm EDT
By Ari Rosenfeld

Josh Brown (above) suffered an Achilles injury last Friday and will have surgery on Wednesday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Ari Rosenfeld (@realA_rosenfeld)
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Coming off an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time in three seasons, the Temple Owls were perceived to have some momentum going as they begin offseason workouts.

A bite from the injury bug, however, has drawn that momentum to a screeching halt.

Rising senior guard Josh Brown suffered an injury to his left Achilles tendon last Friday, and is scheduled to have surgery this Wednesday (May 25th).

OwlScoop.com was first with the news.

As the Owls primary ballhandler, and with the departures of seniors Quenton DeCosey, Jaylen Bond, and Devin Coleman, Brown was expected to play a key leadership role both on and off the court.

Aside from his intangibles, Brown’s on-court production will be sorely missed should the 6-foot-3 New Jersey native miss extended time come the start of the season. His 8.3 points per game are second only to Obi Enechionyia amongst returning players, and his rebounding average of 4.8 boards per game is tops among the Owls’ returnees.

His most notable statistic, though, comes as a surprise to no one who’s spent any time watching the steady lead guard; Brown’s 3.5 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked eighth in the entire country, and his 4.9 helpers per game were more than three times what any other returning player posted.

“Josh had such a good year assist-to-turnover wise, he was really a leader on the court,” head coach Fran Dunphy told CoBL just last week. “He’s going to have a little bit different of a role next season. He’s going to have to score the ball a little more, he’ll have to work on his defense and again really be a leader for us.”

While there is no official timetable for Brown’s return, Achilles injuries are considered one of the most difficult ailments for a basketball player to come back from, having played a part in the demise of NBA stars like Dominique Wilkins and Kobe Bryant.

In his absence, the Owls have two players capable of handling the point guard role. Rising sophomore Levan Alston Jr. spent a fair amount of time on the ball in an up-and-down freshman campaign, and Dunphy is also bringing in three-star lead guard Alani Moore, a D.C. native.

Another incoming freshman, four-star 6-foot-6 guard Quinton Rose, could potentially play some point as well, if need be.

With Brown, the Owls’ unquestioned leader, now expected to be out for some length of time, the battle for point guard duties becomes Temple’s biggest storyline as it heads into the offseason.


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