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Wisconsin freshman Brevin Prtizl tweeted out a photo of himself Friday in a hospital bed with a cast on his foot before deleting the post. According to Jim Polzin of the Wisconsin State Journal, Pritzl had surgery to repair a broken left foot.
Broken left foot, had successful surgery today, per a team spokesman. https://t.co/p1TAqYTrQ3
— Jim Polzin (@JimPolzinWSJ) August 7, 2015
It is unclear as of now when or how the injury occurred.
Traevon Jackson needed nearly 11 weeks to return from a similar injury last season. If Pritzl needs the same length of recovery, he will still be ready to play when the season starts with the annual Red/White Scrimmage in late October.
Normally an injury like this might be a convenient reason for a freshman to redshirt. However, Wisconsin's rotation at guard for the upcoming season is far from set. Zak Showalter, Jordan Hill and Riley Dearring are among those unproven options vying for backcourt minutes opposite entrenched starter Bronson Koenig. As perhaps the purest traditional shooting guard on the roster, Pritzl would have had every opportunity to work his way into the mix in the coming months. He may still.
Reports out of summer practices have been positive regarding Pritzl's offensive game. But Pritzl still needs to master Bo Ryan's requirements on defense -- a must to earn playing time as a Badger. Unfortunately, missing time due to injury pauses his development.
The 6'3, 185-pound newcomer averaged 25 points and six rebounds per game as a senior at De Pere (Wis.) High School last year and was a consensus four-star recruit.