Patella tendon dislocation will cost sophomore 4-6 months
“State College, Pa., Oct. 23, 2005 – A month before its season opener with Cornell on Nov. 19, the Penn State basketball team has lost one of its top returning scorers to a knee injury.
“Sophomore shooting guard Danny Morrissey (Cleveland, Ohio), who started 10 games as a true freshman, suffered a patella tendon dislocation in his left knee at the team’s practice on Friday and is expected to undergo surgery within the next week. Morrissey is expected to be out of competition for 4-6 months and will likely redshirt the season.
“The loss of Morrissey reduces Head Coach Ed DeChellis’s roster to 14 players as he enters his third season on the Nittany Lion bench.
” ‘Obviously it’s a big loss for our team,’ DeChellis said. ‘Danny is one of our top shooters and top competitors and a team leader on the floor. It’s really unfortunate for him. He worked very hard in the off-season to prepare for this year. But, we feel like we have some very capable players that can step in and fill the gap and a team we will continue to prepare to have a strong season.’
“Morrissey suffered a similar injury to his right leg during his freshman year of high school and had surgery to clean up that injury prior to last season. He was fifth on the team averaging 7.7 points and added 2.5 rebounds per game for Penn State in his first season. Morrissey played an average of nearly 24 minutes per game and led the team with 53 three-pointers on the year, hitting nearly 36 percent from behind the arc.
“Morrissey stepped up his game in Big Ten play posting 8.3 points per game and recorded a career-high 22-point outing against Minnesota last March. He led the team in scoring in five games last season and posted double-digit outings on nine occasions, including 16 points against Northwestern and Western Carolina and 15 at Purdue.
“Penn State will see its first competition of the year Nov. 3 when they host an exhibition game against Lock Haven in the Bryce Jordan Center at 7:00 p.m. That game is free and open to the public as is the Nov. 10 exhibition against Edinboro (7:00 p.m.).”