Chris Warren Out For Season With Torn ACL

OXFORD, Miss. The injury-riddled 2008-09 Ole Miss basketball season continued on Friday as the team learned that sophomore point guard Chris Warren will miss the remainder of the season after a Friday morning MRI revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. It also showed a minor MCL sprain, a medial meniscus tear and a lateral bone contusion.

Warren was injured on a layup attempt during the Rebels’ final offensive possession in a 77-68 loss to No. 9 Louisville in the SEC/BIG EAST Invitational Thursday night in Cincinnati. The Orlando, Fla., native scored 18 points with four assists and three steals before sitting out the final seconds of the game.

A preseason All-Southeastern Conference first team selection by league coaches, Warren is the third member of the Ole Miss backcourt to suffer a season-ending knee injury this year. Junior Eniel Polynice, the team’s most veteran returning starter, had surgery to repair extensive cartilage damage and loose fragments in his left knee on Nov. 18, while SEC All-Freshman pick Trevor Gaskins was lost with a torn ACL in his left knee a week prior to the season opener.

“We’re obviously very disappointed for Chris,” said Rebel head coach Andy Kennedy. “I feel terrible that he will be unable to finish this season. We’ve had an unfortunate rash of knee injuries through the early part of the season, but we will come together as a team and continue to push forward. To lose a special player like Chris, in addition to Trevor and E.P., certainly affects what we are able to do on the court, but we will continue to battle.”

Through 11 games, Warren has made up one-half of Ole Miss’ dynamic duo in the backcourt, ranking in the top five in the SEC in scoring at 19.6 points per game, just behind teammate David Huertas, who ranks second in the league with 20.9 points per contest. Warren tops the SEC in minutes per game (34.4) and also ranks among the league leaders in assists, steals and three-pointers per outing.

Last year, Warren set the Ole Miss record for three-pointers in a season with 103 and the Rebel freshman record for points scored with 554. He was a unanimous selection to the SEC All-Freshman team picked by the league coaches.

Remaining scholarship players in the Rebels’ backcourt, which was tabbed “Best in the SEC” by at least one preseason publication (Blue Ribbon Yearbook), include Huertas, sophomore Zach Graham and freshmen Will Bogan and Terrico White. Bogan has served as the back-up point guard to Warren through the first 11 games of the season.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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