STARKVILLE — Quinndary Weatherspoon’s last two weeks have been full of uncertainties.
On Nov. 21, it was announced the Mississippi State sophomore guard/forward was going to miss the remainder of the season with a tear to his Scapholunate ligament in his left hand — his non-dominant hand. He suffered the injury Nov. 18 against Boise State in the Gildan Charleston Classic in Charleston, South Carolina. Weatherspoon played the next day against UTEP.
Weatherspoon was expected to have surgery Wednesday, but after feeling little pain after taking a few shots, Weatherspoon decided to put off surgery and see if he could play again. Weatherspoon showed little pain or rustiness Thursday in a game-high 21-point effort in the MSU men’s basketball team’s 74-57 victory against Oregon State at Humphrey Coliseum.
“About a week ago,” Weatherspoon said of when he thought he could play. “My wrist was getting better and better by the day. As it was getting better, I started shooting and dribbling. I told coach (Ben) Howland I wanted to hold off on the surgery before I tried to play a game first.”
Weatherspoon, who missed two games, said he experienced pain the last two weeks, but he said he began to look at the big picture. After talking with his family, Howland, and MSU athletic trainer Ryan Dotson, Weatherspoon decided to try to come back.
“Ryan had told me when I first did it it was going to get better by the day, so I just tried to wait it out and see how it was going to feel. It’s feeling good,” Weatherspoon said.
Weatherspoon said he decided to cancel his surgery Tuesday and expects to undergo the surgery after the season. He hopes he can play the rest of the season, but he will take it game by game.
Howland said he was worried at first because the Scapholunate ligament connects several bones in the hand. But after Weatherspoon said he wasn’t experiencing much pain, Howland began to do research on the injury. He reached out to several doctors and trainers, including former Los Angeles Lakers team trainer Gary Vitti, who told him the injury was common. Scott Jones, MSU’s team doctor, tested Weatherspoon’s wrist Monday.
“Dr. Jones was moving the bones, was pressing on everything in the hand, was testing him every way possible, and there was no pain, good strength, good range of motion,” Howland said.
Howland said Weatherspoon became asymptomatic after eight days and he was told it was hard for an asymptomatic patient to improve. He said he has learned more about the Scapholunate ligament and the bones in the hand than he ever thought he could know.
Weatherspoon was 6 of 7 from the field, 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line. He scored 20 in the first half on 6-of-6 shooting to help MSU build a 45-19 lead. Trailing 3-2, MSU (5-2) used an 11-0 run, which included 3-pointers by Weatherspoon from both corners, to take the lead for good.
Freshman Mario Kegler said Weatherspoon informed the Bulldogs last week he might return, but they were unsure if he could.
“It was real exciting to just know we had Quinndary back on the floor to bring to the team what he does,” Kegler said. “With him on the court, we all just come together and played.”
Kegler had 12 points, while freshman Lamar Peters, who was suspended for the game against Northwestern State for oversleeping, and classmate Eli Wright had 10.
Stephen Thompson Jr. led Oregon State (3-5) with 20 points. JaQuori McLaughlin had 12 and Cheikh N’diaye had 10.
Howland was impressed with Weatherspoon in his return.
“He was absolutely phenomenal. He was so good in the first half,” Howland said. “The way he shot the ball in the first half, you thought he would never miss a beat. He was incredible.
“He’s the ultimate team guy. He’s all about Mississippi State and his teammates. His toughness is just incredible.”
MSU will play host to Georgia State at 4 p.m. Sunday (SEC Network+) before a 10-day layoff due to final exams.
Weatherspoon said he didn’t feel much pain in his 30 minutes, but said he felt one “little pop.” He said the pain didn’t last long and his wrist was back to normal.
“I didn’t know I was going to hit all of those threes,” Weatherspoon said. “I kind of did know it because all I’ve been doing is shooting. I haven’t been able to dribble that much. It felt good to be back.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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