While a significant amount of rust was knocked off of junior forward Geary Claxton's game on Saturday against Saint Joseph's, it will take some more time for the pesky brace and wrap on his right hand to fall by the wayside.
As of yesterday, Claxton was trying to dribble, pass and shoot a basketball without the use of two fingers -- his right pinkie and ring fingers -- held together by a plastic brace wrapping around both sides of his hand. There is also brown bandaging with little traction that holds the plastic in place to protect the hand in case of a fall.
"They have tried to cut that thing down, but they can only go so far," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said.
The medical confection has limited Claxton on the floor, but DeChellis hopes that in four days, the doctors will be able to reduce its size. In another week, DeChellis said, Claxton might be brace free and able to use all five digits.
For now, how much pain he feels, plus how aesthetically pleasing Claxton's play is to his coach during games, will determine his minutes.
"I don't want to put too much pressure on him, you know, because he puts pressure on himself and tries to do stuff," DeChellis said. "His hand has got that brace on it and he can't dribble the ball very well right now or shoot the ball or pass the ball really well with it."
Tomorrow will mark the fourth week of Claxton's recovery after he broke his right pinkie on a tip-in attempt against Edinboro in the preseason on Nov. 1. After a six-point performance against the Hawks on Saturday, including the late, game-saving block, DeChellis still does not have his hopes too high for Claxton.
He's only looking for Claxton to supply a 6-foot-5, athletic and defensive presence, even though he still thinks opponents will still have to guard him. Claxton might be limited, but don't tell him that.
"It's hard to get a grip on the ball, on my palm," Claxton said after the St. Joe's game, "but [the brace] really doesn't affect me."
Switching shirts?
It seems that the confusion caused by having two David Jacksons might be put to rest with the decommissioning of freshman forward David "D.J." Jackson. In fact, "D.J." might be out past senior guard David "Mooch" Jackson's graduation if the stress fracture in his left leg doesn't heal soon.
As of last weekend, D.J. Jackson was still using crutches during the day and a bone stimulator at night to heal the leg. He hasn't practiced since sitting out the Bucknell game.
"Shut him down," DeChellis said. "He hasn't done anything. He's still limping. He is still usin' his crutches over the weekend. He can't bear weight. He's going to have to be on his crutches until he is pain free."
If the pain doesn't subside in a reasonable amount of time, DeChellis might need to consider a medical redshirt for the freshman. Rules stipulate that a player may play no more than 20 percent of his games to get a medical redshirt -- according to DeChellis -- and Jackson has participated in only three contests.
"[Redshirting]'s a possibility if it didn't work out where that thing heals," DeChellis said.
Jackson's injury could have an effect on fellow freshman forward Andrew Jones. DeChellis had been thinking about giving Jones a chance to gain valuable experience through a redshirt season of his own, but those plans might change if postplayers like Jackson continue to get beat up.
"We are one post injury away from having to make a change," DeChellis said. "We'll revisit it, that's for sure."
