Seth Allen Out 8-10 Weeks With Fractured Foot, Now What?

Mar 14, 2013; Greensboro, NC, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Seth Allen (4) knocks the ball away from Wake Forest Demon Deacons guard Madison Jones (1) in the first half at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

I’ll just cut to the chase with you: Mark Turgeon announced on Wednesday afternoon via press release that starting point guard Seth Allen would be out 8-10 weeks with a fractured foot.

Per the University of Maryland website, Allen injured his foot towards the end of Tuesday night’s practice after landing awkwardly on a drive to the hoop. He’s scheduled for surgery on October 31st. This marks the second injury of Allen’s career as a Maryland Terrapins. Last year, he fractured his wrist towards the end of the year on March 24th, causing him to miss the last two games of the NIT.

Per Turgeon

"“We are devastated for Seth. He was playing at a very high level throughout the summer and fall and was poised to have an excellent start to the season.  We will support Seth during his rehabilitation process and will prepare him, so he can get back on the court with his teammates.”"

The injury obviously isn’t one that you want right before the season is set to tip off against Catholic University on November 3rd (an exhibition game). Now that former starting point guard Pe’Shon Howard transferred to USC, the Allen injury leaves freshman Roddy Peters as the only point guard on the roster. Presumably, he will split time at the point guard position with both Dez Wells and Nick Faust, who both spent time there last season in hopes of alleviating Maryland’s inability to properly distribute the ball.

Were Allen to follow his 8-10 week recovery estimate, that would peg him to return during ACC play; at Pittsburgh on January 6th or at Florida State on January 12th.

If there is a silver lining in any of this, which is admittedly hard to find this time around, it’s that Roddy Peters is going to get some major in-game experience heading into ACC play. The freshman didn’t play his senior year of high school, and only has scant experience playing at a higher level after a trip to the Bahamas this summer. Him being initiated early on could serve the Terps better during conference play, which is what truly matters this year in a revamped and reloaded ACC.

The Terps are good enough to recover from something like this and continue to perform very similarly to what they may have even with Allen. Still, it gives them a much smaller margin for error than before. One more injury to the team and the Terps might have to get very creative with how they employ lineups. As it stands, minutes have definitely just opened up for players, and getting reps this early isn’t a bad thing for the Terps.

Injuries happen, especially foot injuries in basketball. They just have to keep moving and take it in stride.