Gonzaga’s Daye faces knee surgery

Gonzaga University forward Austin Daye thought he had escaped serious injury last Tuesday when he took a hard fall at the LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio.

But an MRI taken after Daye returned home to Irvine, Calif., showed he wasn’t so lucky. The talented 6-foot-10 Daye suffered a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. The original diagnosis in Akron was that Daye had injured a tendon in his hamstring.

Daye learned the test results Monday afternoon.

“I wasn’t too happy,” Daye said in a telephone interview. “I was emotionally drained after hearing that.”

He expects to undergo surgery in the next 3-4 days. Gonzaga assistant coach Tommy Lloyd and ex-Bulldog Ronny Turiaf, who has signed an offer sheet with Golden State, visited Daye on Monday night.

Daye averaged 10.5 points and 4.7 rebounds as a true freshman last year and was expected to take on a bigger role this season for the Bulldogs, who are ranked in the top 15 of numerous preseason polls. Daye was honorable mention All-WCC and was selected to the conference’s All-Freshman Team.

“Unfortunately injuries are part of the game,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “We just feel really bad for Austin. He was having a really good off-season and working hard, but we expect him to return at some point, better than ever.”

Daye’s status for the 2008-09 season isn’t clear and probably won’t be determined for some time. As an example, Kansas guard Brandon Rush tore the ACL in his right knee in a pickup game in late May, 2007. He had surgery June 1, but returned to game action in mid November and helped the Jayhawks win the national championship. Kansas coach Bill Self credited Rush’s work ethic and advances in ACL surgery and rehabilitation for Rush’s speedy return. Rush scored 25 points in a NCAA tournament semifinal win over North Carolina and he was selected 13th overall in the NBA Draft in June.

“Hopefully I can come back this season,” Daye said. “I honestly don’t know the recovery time, but if there’s a chance to play and help the team I hope I can do that. At the same time, I don’t want to come back too soon and have something happen.”

Daye went down in a tangle of bodies at LeBron James’ elite camp, which featured 24 top collegiate players.

“I had just passed the ball,” Daye said. “I took a step forward and slipped and my left leg stayed straight and my right knee was bent. I went down and I heard a couple of noises. The trainers back there thought it was my hamstring.”

If Daye is sidelined for an extended period, Gonzaga figures to move Micah Downs to the power forward position that Daye shared with the graduated David Pendergraft last season. GU coaches already were planning on shifting Ira Brown to power forward after he saw limited time at small forward last season.

Downs, who averaged 24.3 minutes per game at small forward last season, was highly productive at power foward two years ago when Gonzaga adjusted to playing without Josh Heytvelt, who was suspended. Other possibilities include Heytvelt, who is on the mend from foot/ankle surgery in early May, playing some power forward as well as center.

NBAdraft.net has projected Daye as the No. 9 pick in the 2009 draft.