Illini guard Brandon Paul will have to carry the load for Illinois college basketball next season. Especially now that Meyers Leonard is gone to the NBA (most likely the Milwaukee Bucks with the #12 pick). BP dropped 43 in the season’s biggest win over Final Four team Ohio State, but he was still largely inconsistent, and committed way too many turnovers.
Paul will need to be the go-to guy in new coach John Groce’s first season. And his offseason preparing for that role just suffered a major setback.
It’s been a tough week or so for a couple Illinois standout athletes. Last week, defensive lineman Michael Buchanan broke his jaw in a Champaign altercation, and on Thursday, star guard Brandon Paul suffered the same injury during a game in open gym. Paul, the winner of BTN’s 2012 “Most Dominating Performance,” averaged 14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game last season as a junior.
He is scheduled for surgery on Friday. His return is up in the air at this point.
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