March 15, 2005
NORFOLK ? Arnaud Dahi?s shoulder has become the X-factor as the Old Dominion Monarchs prepare to face Michigan State on Friday in the opening round of the NCAA tournament .
Dahi suffered a mild dislocation of his left shoulder in the Colonial Athletic Association championship game eight days ago . It happened when he was banged into awkwardly while battling for a rebound against Virginia Commonwealth in a game the Monarchs would win in overtime 73-66 .
Reports out of the Monarchs? camp is that the shoulder is improving daily . Dahi has undergone treatment twice a day since the injury .
?On Friday, I would have said there was no chance of him playing,? ODU coach Blaine Taylor said. ?On Saturday, there was a bit of a chance. By Sunday?s practice, there was a better chance.?
Taylor gave the Monarchs (28-5) Monday off as they caught up on school work in preparation for heading to Worcester, Mass. , for their game with the Spartans (22-6) .
The Monarchs will return to practice today and Dahi will be wearing a Sully Shoulder Stabilizer, designed to limit the mobility of the shoulder, thus cutting down on risk of a repeat of the injury.
?It didn?t come all the way out of the socket, but it shifted out of joint,? ODU trainer Scott Johnson said. ?He?s getting better every day and I?m optimistic. ?
Taylor said Michigan State may be the most physical team in the nation, so Dahi needs to prepare for his shoulder to receive ample contact.
?The good thing is we had an extra week for him to try to recover between the CAAs and the NCAAs,? Taylor said.
Regardless, Taylor is telling freshman center Sam Harris and sophomore forward Valdas Vasylius to prepare themselves for a heavier work load against the Spartans.
?I?ve been telling Sam he really needs to ramp it up, because we may need extra minutes from him,? Taylor said , in reference to his 7-foot-3 center from Tasmania.
Taylor is also trying to coax back to health freshman forward Jason Thompson , whose kneecap popped out of socket momentarily almost three weeks ago at James Madison in the final regular-season game.
Thompson missed the CAA tournament because of the knee injury.
NORFOLK ? Arnaud Dahi?s shoulder has become the X-factor as the Old Dominion Monarchs prepare to face Michigan State on Friday in the opening round of the NCAA tournament .
Dahi suffered a mild dislocation of his left shoulder in the Colonial Athletic Association championship game eight days ago . It happened when he was banged into awkwardly while battling for a rebound against Virginia Commonwealth in a game the Monarchs would win in overtime 73-66 .
Reports out of the Monarchs? camp is that the shoulder is improving daily . Dahi has undergone treatment twice a day since the injury .
?On Friday, I would have said there was no chance of him playing,? ODU coach Blaine Taylor said. ?On Saturday, there was a bit of a chance. By Sunday?s practice, there was a better chance.?
Taylor gave the Monarchs (28-5) Monday off as they caught up on school work in preparation for heading to Worcester, Mass. , for their game with the Spartans (22-6) .
The Monarchs will return to practice today and Dahi will be wearing a Sully Shoulder Stabilizer, designed to limit the mobility of the shoulder, thus cutting down on risk of a repeat of the injury.
?It didn?t come all the way out of the socket, but it shifted out of joint,? ODU trainer Scott Johnson said. ?He?s getting better every day and I?m optimistic. ?
Taylor said Michigan State may be the most physical team in the nation, so Dahi needs to prepare for his shoulder to receive ample contact.
?The good thing is we had an extra week for him to try to recover between the CAAs and the NCAAs,? Taylor said.
Regardless, Taylor is telling freshman center Sam Harris and sophomore forward Valdas Vasylius to prepare themselves for a heavier work load against the Spartans.
?I?ve been telling Sam he really needs to ramp it up, because we may need extra minutes from him,? Taylor said , in reference to his 7-foot-3 center from Tasmania.
Taylor is also trying to coax back to health freshman forward Jason Thompson , whose kneecap popped out of socket momentarily almost three weeks ago at James Madison in the final regular-season game.
Thompson missed the CAA tournament because of the knee injury.
