North Carolina State University Athletics
Vague Prognosis for Pack's Bennerman
1/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2005
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - "Out for an indefinite period of time" are the words NC State head basketball coach Herb Sendek has used more than he would like here of late. He first used that loose prognosis to describe the condition of Tony Bethel after the junior point guard was diagnosed with colitis a few weeks back. Now Sendek is saying essentially the same thing about guard Cameron Bennerman, who sustained an elbow injury in practice last Wednesday.
Bennerman's injury, termed an `elbow sprain,' kept the junior out of the Wolfpack's 85-69 victory over Maryland on Sunday. Prior to the game, Sendek, using information given to him by team doctors, said Bennerman could be out from anywhere between one to six weeks. As of Monday, the overall prognosis had not changed.
"We have a wide range of possibilities there," Sendek said. "He's out for the time being; how long, I just don't know. There's some uncertainty there. I think that probably the best term to apply would be indefinite."
Due to Bethel's absence, Bennerman had worked his way into the starting line-up and was the team's second leading scorer with an average of 10.3 points per game. He is also hitting over 42 percent from 3-point range.
After missing four consecutive games, Bethel was able to see limited action at Maryland, playing two minutes in the first half.
"He gave us a quick sub while we let a few guys catch their breath just briefly," said Sendek. "Tony is getting better everyday. When he's really able to return to true form is really hard to say. He's making progress; it's just going to take some additional time."
During the period of his illness, Bethel lost anywhere from 15 to 20 pounds. He first returned to practice on a part-time basis prior to the Wolfpack's game at Virginia Tech last Wednesday.
Another backcourt player who has gotten healthier in recent weeks is Engin Atsur. Although it was downplayed somewhat, the sophomore from Istanbul, Turkey experienced some discomfort in his lower back for a handful of games after taking a hard fall in the second half against Columbia in late December.
But in Sunday's big win at Maryland, Atsur was arguably the Pack's key performer, playing 39 minutes with six assists and no turnovers. Six of Atsur's 17 points came on back-to-back 3-pointers with less than seven minutes remaining that helped to snuff out Maryland's attempted comeback.
"At the end of the day, he's probably one of the most underrated players in this conference," Sendek said. "He just does a great job for us."
