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BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii's Brandon Spearman and UC Irvine's Adam Folker reach for a loose ball in the second half of the UC Irvine vs Hawaii basketball game at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Hawaii men’s basketball junior guard Brandon Spearman said today he will miss two to four weeks because an MRI revealed a torn ligament in his left ankle.
However, UH coach Gib Arnold said he was given a much longer timetable — two to three months — and that his third-leading scorer is not expected back for remaining games this season.
"I guess there’s a chance he could be back in two to four (weeks), but the doctor told me those take anywhere from two to three months," Arnold said. "So they’re going to look at it day-to-day as swelling goes down. You can never really completely predict.
"Obviously it’s a big loss. He’s a big part of what we do on both ends of the floor … but it means someone else’s minutes will increase and they’ll have to pick up the slack."
UH (15-11, 9-6 Big West) is fighting for position going into the Big West tournament, which begins March 14 in Anaheim, Calif. The third-place Rainbow Warriors have three BWC regular-season games remaining.
If Spearman, who averages 9.7 points per game, recovers on the front end of his timetable he mentioned, he could be available in the league tournament. But Arnold was not optimistic on that.
"I was told he would not be back," the coach said.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Spearman went down with the injury in UH’s 80-71 loss at Pacific on Saturday.
