Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Laurence Bowers returning tonight?
By Joe Kaiser
UPDATE: CBS Sports' Doug Gottlieb broke the news Tuesday via Twitter and his colleague Jon Rothstein confirmed it this morning-- Missouri forward Laurence Bowers (sprained right MCL) will be back in the lineup tonight when the Tigers head to Baton Rouge to take on LSU. Bowers, the team's leading scorer (16.8 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (6.9 rpg), had missed the last five games and his return is expected to give Mizzou a huge lift heading into the final six weeks of the regular season.
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No word yet on whether Laurence Bowers (sprained right MCL) will return to Missouri's lineup on Wednesday against LSU, but there are some encouraging signs that will be the case.
Bowers reportedly launched off his injured right leg to dunk during a recent practice, which could be an indication that he's ready to give it a go.
“I watched him work out (Sunday) and obviously he’s doing more work than the other guys to get himself ready,” Tigers coach Frank Haith tells the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He looked really good. It’s going to come down to my confidence in seeing him take a hit. He’ll practice the next two days and we’ll see how he does. I’ll see how his reaction is to getting back out there.”
Bowers has missed five games, a stretch in which Mizzou has went 3-2 with both losses coming in lopsided fashion on the road against Ole Miss and Florida. As much as the Tigers have missed Bowers' rebounding, it's his 16.8 points a game that has really been tough to replace. In the losses to the Rebels and Gators, the Tigers managed only 49 and 52 points, respectively.
