2008 Woodie Awards
Rakestraw undergoes surgery on dislocated pinky
Matt Jones
Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: Sports
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Arkansas freshman guard Nate Rakestraw will miss six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a dislocated pinky on his shooting hand, Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said Thursday.
Rakestraw injured his finger in Tuesday's practice in a dive for a loose ball, Pelphrey said. While Rakestraw is obviously upset about the injury, he has a good attitude, Pelphrey said.
"It hurts us because he was getting better," Pelphrey said. "He was part of our limited guard play already. That's a big blow for us. (Trainer) Dave (England) is going to do a good job and we're going to get him back. But it will take some time and he's going to miss some games.
"We need him to get back and be a part of what's going to happen this season because it's going to be a long year," he said.
Rakestraw, a freshman from Springdale Har-Ber High, was expected to make a large contribution to this season's team, Pelphrey said. Rakestraw and fellow freshman Michael Sanchez were ahead of Arkansas' other freshmen in practice, Pelphrey said.
Sanchez and Rakestraw were also high school teammates.
Rakestraw has lost 25 pounds since arriving on campus in the summer, Pelphrey said, and isn't expected to fall off in his conditioning because of the injury. Pelphrey said he doesn't expect Rakestraw to take a redshirt because of the injury.
Pelphrey said he likened the injury to one of his own during his playing days at Kentucky. Pelphrey missed the first 13 games of his redshirt freshman season with a stress fracture in his foot.
"I missed 13 games my freshman year," Pelphrey said. "Nate has been a part and went to Cancun with us. Now for him to go out in the middle of everything, I'm sure it's a little deflating for him because he's put in a lot of hard work in a short period of time."
In other injury news, senior forward Sonny Weems is doing better, Pelphrey said, after breaking his left wrist in August. Weems wore a glove on his wrist in Thursday's practice.
Rakestraw injured his finger in Tuesday's practice in a dive for a loose ball, Pelphrey said. While Rakestraw is obviously upset about the injury, he has a good attitude, Pelphrey said.
"It hurts us because he was getting better," Pelphrey said. "He was part of our limited guard play already. That's a big blow for us. (Trainer) Dave (England) is going to do a good job and we're going to get him back. But it will take some time and he's going to miss some games.
"We need him to get back and be a part of what's going to happen this season because it's going to be a long year," he said.
Rakestraw, a freshman from Springdale Har-Ber High, was expected to make a large contribution to this season's team, Pelphrey said. Rakestraw and fellow freshman Michael Sanchez were ahead of Arkansas' other freshmen in practice, Pelphrey said.
Sanchez and Rakestraw were also high school teammates.
Rakestraw has lost 25 pounds since arriving on campus in the summer, Pelphrey said, and isn't expected to fall off in his conditioning because of the injury. Pelphrey said he doesn't expect Rakestraw to take a redshirt because of the injury.
Pelphrey said he likened the injury to one of his own during his playing days at Kentucky. Pelphrey missed the first 13 games of his redshirt freshman season with a stress fracture in his foot.
"I missed 13 games my freshman year," Pelphrey said. "Nate has been a part and went to Cancun with us. Now for him to go out in the middle of everything, I'm sure it's a little deflating for him because he's put in a lot of hard work in a short period of time."
In other injury news, senior forward Sonny Weems is doing better, Pelphrey said, after breaking his left wrist in August. Weems wore a glove on his wrist in Thursday's practice.
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