As if not playing a game for a couple of weeks and starting conference play with a loss to top-ranked Gonzaga wasn’t hard enough, BYU took another hit on Thursday in Spokane, Wash.
Sophomore forward Wyatt Lowell suffered what appeared to be an ankle injury and had to be helped off the court. Following the game, BYU coach Mark Pope said the staff is “not optimistic” about Lowell’s injury.
Seeing Lowell go down hit the heartstrings of the team and fans alike. The Gilbert, Ariz. native sat out last season after transferring from Utah Valley and, I can only assume, was really excited to finally get to play for the Cougars this season.
But then Lowell tore his labrum during an offseason workout and underwent surgery — just as Gavin Baxter did last season. The injury forced Lowell to take a slow start to the season, but was getting back in the swing of things. That is, until Thursday night.
Big man Richard Harward said Lowell is one of his favorite teammates. The pair were at Utah Valley together and transferred to BYU together. It made seeing Lowell get injured hurt that much more.
“I’m not going to lie, I got teary-eyed when I got to the locker room because he’s like a brother,” Harward said. “Watching him get hurt like that sucked.”
If Pope’s initial evaluation is correct, Lowell is the second Cougar to go down with a season-ending injury in a game. Earlier this season Baxter went out with a torn ACL.
“I hope that the doctors’ guesses are wrong right now, but that is certainly discouraging,” Pope said.
More thoughts
• Watching the BYU-Gonzaga game on Thursday it became clear why the Zags are the No. 1 team in the country. The Bulldogs looked every bit like it. But if you put aside the first 10 minutes of the game, the Cougars looked like contenders. Everything would have needed to go perfectly right for BYU and everything wrong for Gonzaga for the Cougars to win. However, every time the Cougars let the game get away from them, they were able to reel it back in a bit. It bodes well for the potential and growth of the team this season.
• Anyone else still processing the events of Wednesday, both local and national? It was a lot to handle, even just as a civilian (I wasn’t covering any of the events). I say this weekend we all do something to take care of our mental health to recover — take a hike, order your favorite takeout, have a facial or whatever helps you relax.
Other voices
• SB Nation compiled a list of 10 observations from the Gonzaga-BYU game, for those wanting a deeper look.
• Casey Lundquist of Sports Illustrated updates readers on BYU Football target Smith Snowden’s recruitment.
Normita’s Spanish Lesson of the Week
lástima
pity (also used as “too bad”)
Que lástima que Wyatt Lowell se lastimó otra vez.
It’s too bad Wyatt Lowell got injured again.
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