Torn ACL ends Ervin’s career at Arkansas
Posted on Saturday, January 12, 2008
Lauren Ervin knew when she heard her knee pop Thursday that her college career was over.
"I'm still pretty much in shock," said Ervin, Arkansas' senior post player who averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds per game.
At an MRI examination Friday, a doctor informed Er vin that she tore her anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee. Ervin fell to the floor after making a basket with 4: 41 left in No. 20 Arkansas' 76-54 loss to No. 11 LSU on Thursday.
When her teammates learned the extent of Ervin's season-ending injur y a day later, they were crushed.
Ervin, after all, was the centerpiece of the Lady Razorbacks' offense. Upon arriving from Mt. San Antonio College in Los Angeles in 2006, Er vin emerged as the Lady Razorbacks'main scoring option. This season, she was the tallest player on the team and the most productive.
"It's hard," senior forward Sarah Pfeifer said. "A lot of our confidence was in Lauren. We're losing our All-American post player, the best player on the team."
Arkansas coach Tom Collen has since devised a con- tingency plan in the wake of Ervin's injury. He will move Whitney Jones, who had played in the high post, into Ervin's spot. Pfeifer, meanwhile, will now start after coming off the bench in the previous 16 games when the Lady Razorbacks went 15-1.
"My biggest concern is that it shortens my rotation," Collen said. "It's going to make us small, a little inexperienced. But those are the cards that have been dealt to us."
Collen arrived at Arkansas last March and figured he had some work to do to rebuild a program that had not made the NCAA Tournament since 2003. He inherited a group of role players and one legitimate star, Ervin, who was recruited by the previous coach, Susie Gardner. Last season, Ervin was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection after averaging 12. 7 points and 10. 3 rebounds per game. She produced 11 double-doubles as the Lady Razorbacks started the season 15-1 but eventually stumbled down the stretch, losing their last 10 games and finishing 18-13.
For Ervin, her performance last season offered her some redemption after the former McDonald's High School All-American transferred from Kansas her freshman season. At the time, Ervin showed flashes of potential but she also carried an attitude. She was reprimanded by the Big XII conference after taunting Missouri's team following the Jayhawks' victory over the Lady Tigers.
"I moved away from home at a young age," Ervin said. "I made some silly mistakes. I didn't understand the concept of college and respecting the coaches. I think the best decision I could have made was coming to the University of Arkansas."
By the time she arrived in Fayetteville, Ervin had matured. She quickly became a vocal leader and the team's most reliable player. This season, Ervin had produced nine doubledoubles and was the conduit for Arkansas' offense as the Lady Razorbacks won the most consecutive games in the program's 32-year history. Before Thursday, Ervin envisioned being selected in the WNBA Draft. But then everything came crashing down when Ervin collapsed to the floor in pain.
"It was devastating news," Ervin said. "Our team has worked so hard. We really wanted to try to be contenders for the SEC. I still think we can. But it's frustrating I have to do it from the bench and I can't contribute."
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