Illinois States Najeeb Echols, who recently transferred from Missouri, will miss four weeks of practice after a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot was discovered, Wednesday.
The 6-7, 230-pound forward, who wont be eligible to compete for the Redbirds until Dec. 13, 2003, has been fitted with a protective boot.
Were glad that our staff caught it early, but were also disappointed that Najeeb wont be able to help us in practice for the next month, head coach Tom Richardson said. Apparently its an injury that bothered him at Missouri and he continued to feel pain here, so we decided to have it looked at. Again, were just fortunate to catch it now, so hell have plenty of time to get ready for next season.
Echols played in 10 games for the Tigers this season and averaged 3.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per contest. Last year as a freshman, he averaged 2.5 points and 2.6 boards in 32 games.
