Nebraska men’s basketball coach Fred Hoiberg announced Wednesday evening that Juwan Gary will have left shoulder surgery and miss the remainder of the 2022-23 season.
Gary, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound forward, suffered the injury in the first half of Nebraska’s game with Illinois on Jan. 10. An MRI revealed last week the extent of the injury, and after meeting with a shoulder specialist earlier on Wednesday, it was determined that undergoing surgery was the best course of action. Gary will undergo shoulder surgery next week, and according to Athletic Trainer R.J. Pietig, the rehab process will be between 5-6 months.
“I feel for Juwan to have his season end because of injury,” Hoiberg said. “He brings so much to our team with his toughness and rebounding, and he was playing some of his best basketball when he got hurt. For Juwan, having the surgery now allows him to rehab and get back to 100 percent for the start of next season. Our team has taken a ‘next man up’ approach when we been without players, and that is what we will have to do in Juwan’s absence.”
Gary started all 17 games in his first season after transferring from Alabama and averaged 9.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and a team-high 1.4 steals per game. He ranked in the top 15 in the Big Ten in steals (seventh and rebounding (15th) and totaled nine double-figure games. He had a season-high 18 points in Nebraska’s win at Minnesota on Jan. 7, and has three games with 10+ rebounds, most recently at Kansas State on Dec. 17.