Sheehey's Injury Could Have Silver Lining for the Indiana Hoosiers

Wednesday evening, rumors sprung up on various IU message boards suggesting that sophomore forward Will Sheehey was seen on crutches. Those rumors were confirmed by an official AP release late Wednesday night from Indiana University, stating that Sheehey was day-to-day with a lower leg injury.

Sheehey is out for tonight's game against the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. However, because the extent of the injury is not known or has not been released by Indiana yet, how much time he misses beyond that is still in question.

If he does miss significant time, it is a big blow to Indiana in the short term. Sheehey was invaluable coming off the bench for the Hoosiers this year and was among the top sixth men in college basketball through the early parts of this season. He currently ranks fifth on Indiana's roster in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 10.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest. But it's his energy and versatility on the defensive end of the floor that will be missed the most.

It doesn't do much good to speculate on the severity of the injury at this point. Even if it's only a mild ankle sprain, he will most likely miss next Wednesday's Big Ten opener against Michigan State at the minimum. And with the difficulty that the first three games of the Big Ten schedule presents, it's a bad time for Indiana to be without one of their most improved players.

If it does end up being only a two to three week injury, it could be a good thing for the long-term prospects of this Indiana team.

The lack of depth on the roster has been a concern for the Hoosiers this season. And up to this point, freshmen Remy Abell and Austin Etherington haven't seen much of the court in any significant games. That is about to change. With Sheehey out of the line-up, both will need to grow up in a hurry, as Tom Crean will not hesitate to throw them into the fray. Not only will they be expected to contribute significantly right away, but they will have to do it against the likes of Michigan State and Ohio State.

Abell will likely be relied on to carry a heavier load than Etherington, as his body is more Big Ten-ready at this point. Remy is also a more capable ball handler and on-the-ball defender than Austin right now, but the challenge for both of them will be fitting into the team defensive concept that Crean has instilled over the last few years. 

Before the Sheehey injury, Crean was struggling to fit these two into his game plan. They've only seen the court against the likes of Howard and Stetson, games that are hardly going to get them ready for big-time competition. Over the next few weeks, Crean shouldn't have a problem getting them some valuable minutes in significant Big Ten games.

As the Big Ten season wears on, Indiana is going to need all the depth they can handle. Though the loss of Sheehey will hurt the Hoosiers' chances of winning these next few games, it will provide an opportunity for Abell and Etherington to become part of a deeper rotation when he does come back. And this will only help Indiana come February and March.

Or maybe I'm just trying to see the bright side of things...

This article originally appeared on www.thehoosiercafe.com