BUFFALO, N.Y. — On Feb. 28, sophomore guard L.J. Cason was ruled out for the season with an ACL tear. At first glance, it seemed like the injury occurred against then-No. 10 Illinois the day prior on a transition play where he tipped the ball up in the air, caught it, and passed it immediately on an awkward landing for a layup and putback dunk. He sat for the remainder of the first half, but Cason returned to play in the second half.
With the exact timing of the injury still unclear — whether it was on that play, after he returned, or even before the entire sequence — Dusty May announced that he would also likely redshirt next season on March 9.
There’s a long road ahead for Cason, but the road has become clearer as he said his surgery date is set for April 9 — strategically placed after the National Championship game — and the recovery time would be 9-12 months.
“I can’t look forward too far, I’m just trying to take it day by day,” Cason said. “A lot of people get injured and can never play again, so for me to know that I have a date where I can come back means everything.”
Cason has gone through a tumultuous past few weeks emotionally, experiencing the lows of awaiting a clearer timeline and grappling with the thoughts that come with such a severe injury while experiencing the highs of the successes the No. 1 seed Michigan men’s basketball team has had.
“It’s been up and down,” Cason said. “Some days you wake up and wonder why this happened to you. Some days you wake up and you don’t notice it. But me just giving my all to this team, no matter what I can do, allows me to get away from those emotions. I mean, this is the best time of the year, March Madness, it’s what I worked so hard for to get the team here. For me to go out the way that I did, it means everything for them to go out and play hard and try to win this thing.”
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