It?s been a basketball season spent in limbo for Seth VanDeest, halfway between being a player for Drake and just a common fan.
The 6-foot-11 center from Bettendorf has been rehabilitating his surgically repaired right shoulder while making every trip with a Bulldog team he served as co-captain last year. But knowing he?ll have two years of eligibility left after this medical redshirt year is only small consolation.
?It?s difficult for sure, not being out there with those guys, not being able to help,? VanDeest said. ?But at the same time I can still find ways to contribute, help in practice, help encourage guys as much as I can.
?And that?s a positive of the medical redshirt, is just another year to get stronger, keep improving on my game.?
VanDeest will be the tallest man behind the bench again at 7 p.m. Wednesday as Drake (13-11, 6-7 Missouri Valley Conference) tries to snap a two-game losing streak when it visits Illinois State (15-9, 7-6).
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, he won?t be the only missing piece on the Redbird Arena court. Forward Ben Simons will sit out his second consecutive game after contracting mononucleosis. And coach Mark Phelps indicated Tuesday that no one is certain when, or if, Simons will return this season.
?We miss him a lot. He?s a run-stopper. When a team gets on a run, we can usually get him a shot and he makes big shots,? Phelps said of his second-leading scorer (16.1 points per game).
?With mono, the big concern is the spleen. And so he?s getting periodic checks on his spleen to make sure it?s shrinking back down to size, and there?s progress there. It?s one of those viruses that can have different affects on different guys.?
Simons, a junior like VanDeest, will be re-evaluated Thursday or Friday to determine his status for Sunday?s home game against Evansville.
VanDeest?s rehab includes three hourly visits a week to a facility where he?s concentrating on getting strength back in the shoulder and joint. He lifts weights, primarily with his lower body, four times a week. And he has a 45-minute session every day with assistant coach Brett Nelson.
The 6-foot-11 center from Bettendorf has been rehabilitating his surgically repaired right shoulder while making every trip with a Bulldog team he served as co-captain last year. But knowing he?ll have two years of eligibility left after this medical redshirt year is only small consolation.
?It?s difficult for sure, not being out there with those guys, not being able to help,? VanDeest said. ?But at the same time I can still find ways to contribute, help in practice, help encourage guys as much as I can.
?And that?s a positive of the medical redshirt, is just another year to get stronger, keep improving on my game.?
VanDeest will be the tallest man behind the bench again at 7 p.m. Wednesday as Drake (13-11, 6-7 Missouri Valley Conference) tries to snap a two-game losing streak when it visits Illinois State (15-9, 7-6).
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, he won?t be the only missing piece on the Redbird Arena court. Forward Ben Simons will sit out his second consecutive game after contracting mononucleosis. And coach Mark Phelps indicated Tuesday that no one is certain when, or if, Simons will return this season.
?We miss him a lot. He?s a run-stopper. When a team gets on a run, we can usually get him a shot and he makes big shots,? Phelps said of his second-leading scorer (16.1 points per game).
?With mono, the big concern is the spleen. And so he?s getting periodic checks on his spleen to make sure it?s shrinking back down to size, and there?s progress there. It?s one of those viruses that can have different affects on different guys.?
Simons, a junior like VanDeest, will be re-evaluated Thursday or Friday to determine his status for Sunday?s home game against Evansville.
VanDeest?s rehab includes three hourly visits a week to a facility where he?s concentrating on getting strength back in the shoulder and joint. He lifts weights, primarily with his lower body, four times a week. And he has a 45-minute session every day with assistant coach Brett Nelson.
