Gonzaga’s Kaden Perry ruled out of Tarleton State game with back spasms

Kaden Perry was helped off the court during pregame warmups and Gonzaga’s freshman forward was officially ruled out of Monday’s game against Tarleton State with back spasms, a school official told The Spokesman-Review prior to tipoff.

Perry was working individually with a team manager on post moves nearly and hour-and-a-half before the game when he limped off the floor with the help of teammate Ben Gregg and a manager.

The first-year player eventually returned to GU’s bench but didn’t go through pregame warmups. Perry left the court again and came back to the bench after the national anthem.

Gonzaga coach Mark Few didn’t have any information on Perry’s status moving forward, telling reporters, “We’ll figure it out, it just happened right before the game.”

Perry’s senior season at Battle Ground High School was cut short when the four-star recruit was sidelined with herniated discs in his bask. Perry was still recovering from the injury when he arrived on Gonzaga’s campus over the summer, but was fully cleared to play for the Bulldogs before Kraziness in the Kennel.

It’s unclear if the herniated discs Perry suffered in the spring and the back spasms that kept him out Monday are related injuries. 

Perry’s played in six of Gonzaga’s first seven games off the bench, missing only a home win over fifth-ranked Texas. He played a season-high 12 minutes in the Bulldogs’ game last Monday against Central Michigan, making all three of his shots from the field to finish with six points and four rebounds. 

On the season, Perry’s averaging 2.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 7.0 minutes per game.