Aztecs Lose Center Dow for Season

San Diego State center Marty Dow will undergo surgery this afternoon for a partially torn tendon in his right foot and ankle and be lost to the team for the remainder of the season, team physician Dr. Peter Wile said Monday.

Dow’s foot has been sore for nearly two months, and Wile said Dow was X-rayed before the team left for a trip to Utah Jan. 31. The test showed a partial tear in the tendon, and then Dow aggravated it Feb. 3 at Utah when he was stepped on by teammate Vern Thompson.

“There was no question he was going to have surgery at the end of the season,” Wile said. “The last injury and the intense pain just forced our hand.”

The first prescription for Dow, who has had a couple of cortisone shots for the foot this season, was several days of rest. But Wile said Dow went to SDSU trainer Mark Haines late last week and said the foot wasn’t getting any better.

“He basically said he was in enough pain that he didn’t want to wait until the end of the season,” Wile said. “In the past, it’s always gotten better. But since the recent aggravation, he has been in constant pain.”

Dow, a 7-foot-1 junior, was unavailable for comment. He was averaging 12 points and six rebounds a game and, until Saturday’s victory over U.S. International University, was one of just two Aztecs to start every game this season. Shawn Jamison is the other.

“(Marty) is not a guy who will whimper over a minor pain,” SDSU Coach Jim Brandenburg said. “He’s been in uncomfortable pain since the injury happened a week ago Saturday.”

Wile said today’s surgery should take about 45 minutes and that the success rate for this type of surgery is “in the high 90% range.” According to Wile, Dow will be in a cast for about six weeks, after which he can start to rehabilitate. But he said it would be a minimum of two-and-a-half to three months before Dow can jump or run hard.

If everything goes according to schedule, Wile said, Dow should be able to resume playing basketball this summer and be ready for the start of SDSU basketball practice next fall.

Jamison, a 6-8 forward, will now be asked to swing over to center at times, along with 6-11 Neal Steinly. Jamison is SDSU’s leading scorer at 16 points a game. Steinly is averaging just 1.2 points and six minutes a game. Other than Jamison and Steinly, the Aztecs have nobody taller than 6-6 on their roster. They also have only nine players on their roster for the remainder of the season--and just seven were on the floor by the end of Monday’s practice. Point guard Rodney Jones is recovering from a sprained ankle and his practice time has been limited during the past week, and reserve guard Kevin Honaker missed practice Monday with a strained calf, suffered running across a parking lot Sunday.

“We have to start working hard and adjusting our player rotation, chemistry and shot distribution,” Brandenburg said.

Steinly started at center against USIU Saturday, but Brandenburg could also go with a smaller lineup consisting of Jamison at center and swingman Michael Hudson (6-5) at forward. Dow’s injury will also mean more playing time for Eeric White (6-6).

“We can’t sustain a whole game with Steinly at center, and we can’t sustain a whole game with Jamison at center,” Brandenburg said. “No matter how we start, Steinly, Jamison and White have to come through on occasion. And Hudson is a physical player, so he will have to step inside.

“It’s not a great situation for us, but if we respond positively I think we can get some things done.”