When Vanderbilt landed five-star prospect Darius Garland it was a major coup for the Commodores, and through five games of his career Garland was averaging 16.2 points and flashing the abilities that made him a potential lottery pick come June.
Unfortunately, Garland suffered a meniscus injury in a game against Kent State, and on Tuesday coach Bryce Drew announced his season was over after undergoing successful surgery.
“Darius had a very successful surgery, and will be better than ever when he returns,” said Drew. “Unfortunately, he will be out for the remainder of this season.”
This is obviously a huge blow to Vanderbilt as they looked to be a contender in the SEC this season, and it will also force Garland to enter the 2019 NBA Draft process without much college tape and prove his knee is healthy. That’s not a unique situation, as seemingly every year there’s a top prospect that finds himself suffering a season-ending injury and having to answer those questions in pre-draft workouts — Garland joins Mizzou’s Jontay Porter as likely first-rounders that will be recovering from knee injuries entering this year’s draft.
Still, Garland figured to be a late lottery pick (our first mock draft had him going 14th overall) and while his draft stock will undoubtedly take a hit over the coming months by him simply not being able to play, he should have ample opportunity in the pre-draft process to rise up draft boards again.
