Thorpe sat out of Syracuse’s first exhibition against Southern New Hampshire, but may be back on Monday.
Geno Thorpe sat and watched on the sideline in a black sweatshirt and sweatpants as his Syracuse Orange teammates made their debut in Wednesday’s exhibition against Southern New Hampshire. His time will have to wait.
He was ruled out with the same right ankle injury that had kept him out of the team’s Orange vs. White scrimmage on Oct. 20.
Jim Boeheim said he hoped that Thorpe would be part of the team’s insurance plan in case of an injury. He did not want only three guards in their rotation because if one went down, they could only rely on two. Now that depth has to make up for Thorpe’s absence as long as he is gone.
“His ankle is still bothering him. We’re not being cautious, he can’t play,” Boeheim said. “He can’t put weight on it, he can’t run. It’s just one of those things… we’ve treated it and done MRIs.”
He said the tests have been negative on Thorpe’s ankle but the team gave him an extra few days off hoping that they can get him on path to be ready for SU’s second exhibition.
Frank Howard and Tyus Battle started at the guard spots, combining for 35 points, and Howard Washington entered off the bench to score 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting in his first game with the Orange.
“We’re hoping that he’ll do a little bit tomorrow,” Boeheim said. “Then we have the day off and we’re hoping that he will be able to go full speed in the two days before the next exhibition game.”
He added that it will be “reasonable” that Thorpe plays on Monday against Southern Connecticut State, but that “he wouldn’t bet on it.”
For now, the team is managing his injury day-to-day.
