Longhorns Lose Cameron Ridley To Injury

The Texas Longhorns got some bad news Monday when it was announced that center Cameron Ridley will be out indefinitely following a foot injury he sustained in practice on Sunday.  Ridley’s loss couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Longhorns as host the Connecticut Huskies Tuesday night in their last tune up before Big 12 play begins on January 2.

More from Texas Basketball

• Texas Basketball: 5-Star PF Asa Newell has ‘tremendous’ OV to Austin
• Texas basketball ‘knocks it out of the park’ with 5-Star SG Tre Johnson
• Texas Basketball: 5-Star SG Tre Johnson officially visiting this weekend
• Texas Basketball: 2 elite 2024 recruits ‘close’ to locking in official visits
• Texas Basketball: 5-Star PG Mikel Brown Jr. talks ‘a lot’ with Horns staff

Ridley had been having a career year in his senior season with the Longhorns.  On the year, we is averaging a double-double with 12.7 points and 10 rebounds per game.  He was recently named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player Of The Week after leading Texas to wins over Appalachain State and Stanford.  In the Appalachain State game, Ridley barely mised the second triple-double in program history when he scored 19 points, gathered in 11 rebounds and 9 blocks, a single-game school record.

Ridley then followed that performance with a 10 point, 10 rebound game against Stanford.  He has put up five double-doubles in only 11 games this year.

The injury sustained by Ridley is a tricky one and no timetable has been set for his return.  Coach Shaka Smart said that he is “really, really hopeful” that Ridley will return before the end of the year.  However, there are no guarantees for the big man.  Ridley will likely be out for at least six to eight weeks, which would put him back in late February.

Of course, by that time, the story of the Longhorns season might already be written.

Now Smart will have to decide how to continue without his best player.  Ridley’s loss should mean more playing time for senior Prince Ibeh, the 6’10”, 265 lbs senior from Garland.  Ibeh was the Co-Defensive Player of the Year last year for the Longhorns and is eighth all time in blocks despite only starting six games in his Texas career.

The Longhorns will need the same sort of strong defensive play from Ibeh now, though it is unlikely that he can provide anywhere near the type of offense that Ridley did.

Or Smart can go with a smaller lineup that relies more on perimeter shooting, a risky proposition at best.

Texas Longhorns

However Smart chooses to go on from here, the expectations for the Longhorns have to be adjusted down accordingly.  A six game winning streak that included last second wins over North Carolina and Stanford had Longhorn fans dreaming big.  However, entering Big 12 play without their best player puts a big damper on those dreams.

If the Longhorns are going to hold on to hope of making the Big Dance, they are going to need everyone else to step up their game to make up for Ridley’s absence.  If they can hold their own for now and if Ridley can come back by late February, he could make the difference in a late season push.

It is possible, though, that Ridley might have played his last game as a Longhorn, only time will tell.

Either way, Ridley’s broken foot is a bad break for a Longhorns.