LSU basketball senior guard Daryl Edwards’ senior season came to an end Thursday morning after undergoing a successful surgery on his foot.
Earlier in the season, coach Will Wade called it an “incurable bone issue,” the same nagging issue that has persisted and claimed much of Edwards’ season already.
This was not the ending that Edwards had in mind when he was putting in all the long grueling hours of practice and conditioning during the summer. Wade praised him in the pre-season as his best perimeter defender, and that his senior guard was making so many three-pointers in practice that they eventually made him shoot them in the gym with the lights off.
“Hopefully he’ll be able to get a medical redshirt,” Wade said. “We appreciated him sticking it out with us as long as he could, but it just got too tough for him.”
Edwards having only played in nine games for the Tigers this season was averaging 4.4 points-per-game to go along with 1.2 assists. His shooting percentage this season was at 39.4 percent, which is lower than last year where he shot 46.2 percent. The foot injury certainly played a role in his diminished minutes and output.
The Tigers lose in Edwards a valuable scoring-option and defender off the bench right as they get into the bulk of Southeastern Conference play. With the Edwards loss in mind, Wade has turned to a solid eight-man rotation since the start of SEC play, much of which has paid off with the Tigers improving both in their offensive and defensive efficiency metrics.
LSU (13-3, 3-0) takes on South Carolina (9-7, 4-0) Saturday night in the PMAC at 5 p.m., which will be aired on the SEC Network.