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It's unclear when L.J. Cason's torn ACL happened.
The Michigan basketball guard tweaked his knee in the first half of Michigan's Big Ten title-clinching victory over Illinois on Friday, Feb. 27, but returned in the second half.
"He passed all of his jump tests," U-M coach Dusty May said Monday, noting that Cason tested his knee on the exercise bike during halftime and was cleared to go back in.
In the second half, however, he appeared to land awkwardly on it again. The next day, Michigan announced that the sophomore's season was done.
"It's obviously unfortunate for him because he was playing so well," May said. "When an ACL pops on a non-contact injury, you're like, 'Man, what could we have done different?' When it happens on a funny, quirky play, usually those are the ones that are not preventable."
L.J. Cason a loss for Michigan
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Cason was averaging 8.4 points and 2.4 assists a game this season, but had been notably more impactful in the past few games for No. 3 Michigan (27-2, 17-1 Big Ten).
Cason scored in double figures in four of five games prior to the Illinois contest. (Against the Illini, he scored nine points in 13 minutes.) That stretch included a career-high 18 points in U-M's Feb. 11 rally at Northwestern, in which Cason didn’t come off the court for the final 15 minutes.
He averaged 11.8 points per game in U-M’s eight February games in February, drawing praise from CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein as "the best backup point guard" in the nation – a plaudit May neither confirmed nor denied.
So what is Michigan's plan at guard without Cason?
First, May noted, starting point guard Elliot Cadeau may have to restrain his defensive efforts slightly.
"This will force Elliot to be much more solid with his defensive decision making when it comes to fouling, knowing he doesn't have that insurance policy anymore," May said. "L.J. came in and carried the load several games for our group, so that's not there anymore."
Who will step up at guard for Wolverines?
Michigan's other guards will be impacted, as well.
"This is a great opportunity for Roddy [Gayle Jr.], Nimari [Burnett] and Trey [McKenney] to play more," May said. "Those guys are really good players. Our rotation has been nine, and nine, I think, is too deep. It's playing too many guys if you want to optimize everyone, but we felt like we had nine guys who deserved to play.
"We look at this as another challenge, but also an opportunity for guys to play a little more, play longer periods, play through a mistake, play in a little bit different role. ... We're prepared to handle whatever comes at us."
McKenney figures to be the backup on-ball guard when Cadeau sits, but U-M has other options, May noted. Burnett played the point in his first season in Ann Arbor. And really, the Wolverines might not always need a point guard running the offense.
May and his staff are comfortable with bigs Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara starting things off. The Wolverines aren't going to force anybody into being something they're not.
"We try to play practical basketball," May said. "If a team has an elite defender, it's not that we don't have confidence our guy can initiate offense against an elite defender, it's just why would you exert that much energy emotionally and physically just to get a ball entered when we have so many other capable weapons?"
L.J. Cason's recovery plans
May said he spoke with Cason, his family and his representatives shortly after the news of the guard's injury came out and sent a text to the team.
"As of yesterday he was fine [mentally]," May said. "But he knows he has a challenge in front of him."
Cason now has a decision to make. A full return from an ACL tear can often require 9-12 months. The early side of that window would bring a potential return in December; a longer recovery would mean Cason would just be coming back as the 2026-27 Big Ten season hit its homestretch.
Cason could be better served by sitting out the entire season.
"[A redshirt] has certainly been discussed," May said. "Then that certainly impacts the recruiting decision-making, and you know all those things. Right now, we're still trying to figure out when he's going to have [surgery], what's the timeline, does it make sense to go ahead and sit out next year.
"That's certainly on the table right now, but we haven't made any definitive decisions because all the information is so inconclusive."
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: L.J. Cason injury will shuffle Michigan basketball rotation