DENVER — Maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of him on television, all the way down at the end of the Gonzaga bench — Przemek Karnowski, the 7-1, 300-pound center who was supposed to lead the Zags through this season, and especially here, in the NCAA tournament.
But as No. 11 Gonzaga plays No. 3 Utah on Saturday night in the second round at Pepsi Center, Karnowski is just hoping he’ll be cleared to play basketball again next season after season-ending back surgery early this season.
“You never get the 100% after surgery from doctors, but there is a big, big chance I will be able to play basketball again, which makes me happy,” Karnowski told USA TODAY Sports.
Karnowski, who had a couple of big games for the Zags in last year’s NCAA tournament, including an 18-point, nine-rebound performance in a Sweet 16 win against UCLA, averaged 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds for Gonzaga in the five games he started this year before he was sidelined in early December. He was ruled out for the year on Dec. 31 and soon after had surgery.
The injury threatened to derail the Zags’ season, and head coach Mark Few said this week that, “it was hard to envision making it through a whole season” without Karnowski.
“When we lost Przemek, we lost all our depth inside, our best rim protector, we lost a guy you had to double on the offensive end, a fantastic passer. We lost our most experienced player in our program,” Few said.
Karnowski’s absence forced sophomore Domantas Sabonis and senior Kyle Wiltjer to play extensive minutes and learn to stay out of foul trouble.
Several months later, Sabonis has developed into one of the best center-forwards in this NCAA tournament and is expected to declare for the NBA draft after this season. But there is still a little bit of wonder from Gonzaga about what this team would have looked like and would have been capable of had Karnowski not been injured.
Karnowski himself, though, tries not to think about it as he focuses on his rehab and on being the best teammate he can be for his team here. If Sabonis or Wiltjer ask for tips, he’ll provide them, and he’ll clap and cheer from his spot near the end of the bench in tonight’s second round game.
He lost about 30 pounds in the last two and a half months and is moving around more comfortably.
“I'm ahead of schedule, so I’m excited about that. I still have some more months ahead of me, but just being able to walk around, that makes me happy for now,” Karnowski said.
GALLERY: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FIRST ROUND
