DaShonte Riley Done For DaSeason

Last week word trickled out that DaShonte Riley might have to miss the season due to surgery on his foot. As we all kinda figured would happen, the big man opted for the surgery and will indeed miss the bulk of, if not the entire season.

"We really aren’t certain how it long it’ll be, but it could be the whole year," Boeheim said. "We’re looking at him as possibly missing this year with the foot surgery."

The move leaves the Orange with a thin frontcourt and all but assures any doubters that Fab Melo will start for the Orange this year. In fact, assuming 6'9" Rick Jackson sticks to the forward spot, the Orange will rotate two freshmen in as centers, Melo and Baye Moussa Keita.

Riley didn't close the door all the way on the entire season, but he only left it open a slight crack:

"They said it's a possibility that I could come back in January," Riley said. "But I don't know what kind of condition and what kind of shape I'll be in January. So, more than likely, I'll take the year off."

The good news for Riley is that he's got a couple of good sources of opinion on how to deal with season-ending injuries: Arinze Onuaku and Scoop Jardine.

"They said it’s really up to me how I take the situation," Riley said. "You can take a year off and be a lot better or you can mope about not playing this year. Scoop sat out and you can see the year he had last year. I try to look at the positives of it."

Thanks a lot, DaShonte. Orange Tip-Off isn't even on newsstands yet and you've already dated it.