Posted on: Saturday, October 30, 2004

Another injury hampers UH hoops

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Another player has been added to the list of walking wounded on the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team.

Chris Botez, the new 7-foot center for the Rainbow Warriors, missed practice yesterday while undergoing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination of his left knee.

Results of the exam are not expected to be ready until Monday.

Botez is able to walk on his own, so Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said he did not think the injury was severe. However, it was still not known how long Botez would be sidelined.

"The first prognosis was a deep bruise," Wallace said after yesterday's practice. "But I still haven't heard the final prognosis. A deep bruise would be good news because that means he can come back in a couple of days."

Botez sustained the injury during Wednesday's practice, but did not need assistance off the court. He warmed up briefly for Thursday's practice, but did not participate in drills.

Even if the injury is minor, Wallace said Botez's progress will suffer.

"He's our No. 1 (center) right now based on the way he's been playing in practice," Wallace said. "He's been aggressive, he runs the floor, and he can catch the ball and do something with it on the offensive end."

Botez is one of five new scholarship recruits on this year's team. He was an all-conference performer at Chemeketa Community College (Ore.) last season.

Botez's injury came a few days after UH's other center, Milos Zivanovic, returned from a five-day bout with the flu.

Senior forward Vaidotas Peciukas has practiced only once this season because of an injury to his right knee. He is expected to miss at least another week.

Junior forward Julian Sensley sustained a sprained left ankle last Saturday, but he returned to practice on Tuesday.

"We're getting them all over the place," Wallace said. "That's not good at this time of the year because you want them all in there learning the stuff."

Sensley added: "It makes it hard to have different guys in there every day. Injuries are a part of the game, so you kind of just have to deal with the pain sometimes."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.