STARKVILLE — The news continues to get worse for the Mississippi State University men’s basketball program.
The school announced Tuesday freshman Fred Thomas will have surgery today to repair a stress fracture in his right foot. Dr. Scott Jones will perform the surgery in Columbus. The projected recovery period is six weeks.
“It’s disappointing because Fred came in with a tremendous attitude and ready to go to work,” MSU coach Rick Ray said in a university release. “Fortunately, we caught it at a time where we expect to have him back at the start of practice. I want to commend Dr. Jones and our trainer Scotty Johnson for catching this fracture early enough that it gives Fred a chance to be 100 percent at the start of the season.”
MSU is slated to begin practice Friday, Oct. 12 with the second annual Maroon Madness. It will open the year Nov. 4 with an exhibition game against William Carey. The regular season begins Nov. 9 at Troy.
MSU announced Aug. 21 Thomas is eligible for the 2012-13 season after he finished his summer coursework and was cleared by the NCAA Eligibility Center.
Before he got a chance to suit up for MSU, point guard Jacoby Davis suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for the 2012-13 season.
“As a coach, you always hate to see this happen,” Ray said. “But Jacoby is a tough kid, and I know he’ll bounce back from this injury.”
After announcing Davis’ injury, guard Craig Sword was arrested for misdemeanor possession of a BB gun on a educational property. The freshman guard, who was on campus for the second semester of summer school, was arrested by university police after the BB gun was found in his dorm room.
Former MSU coach Rick Stansbury signed Thomas, a three-star prospect from Jim Hill High School in Jackson, in the early period of last year. Thomas, a 6-foot-5 swingman, averaged 19.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a senior. He is expected to spend time at the shooting guard and small forward this season.
This past year, Thomas led Jim Hill to the Class 6A state championship title. He hit the game-winning shot against Tupelo High in the final seconds of overtime.
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