Calf Injury Sidelines John Fulkerson

#1
iKrager

iKrager

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#1
I did want to make a thread discussing the down season Fulkerson has been having. For those who weren’t watching much last season, Fulkerson was pivotal in the first 10 games of the 2016-17 season, iirc he averaged close to a double-double against both ranked Oregon and ranked North Carolina.

This year he hasn’t been close to the type of player we saw last year, why do you think that is? Injuries. Injuries keep piling up for Fulkerson and he’s been battling it all season.

Well, it was reported that now Fulkerson is battling a calf injury sustained during Friday’s practice - which lead to him getting sat against Ole Miss.

Vols coach Rick Barnes said Fulkerson sustained a calf injury in Friday’s practice and still looked a bit gimpy in pregame warmups. The redshirt freshman forward was in uniform Saturday and warmed up with his teammates, but he stayed on the bench throughout the game.

“He hurt his calf yesterday in practice,” Barnes said. “He got kicked in the calf. It’s like when you get kicked in the thigh, but he got kicked in the calf.”

Fulkerson, an Upper East Tennessee native, was one of Tennessee’s best storylines early last season. Considered by many a developmental prospect, the 6-foot-7 forward was a major contributor straight out of the gate until suffering a gruesome arm injury — a fractured right wrist and dislocated right elbow — on Dec. 15 to end his season.

After spending several months with his wrist in a cast and his arm in a sling, Fulkerson returned to workouts briefly only to suffer another significant injury — a torn labrum in his left shoulder — and had to spend several more months with his other arm in a sling.

Spending virtually an entire year with one arm or the other in a sling certainly had its impact on Fulkerson, and he hasn’t been the same player he was last season. Being unable to lift weights and run — let alone actually play basketball — for such a sustained period put the lean southpaw behind the curve heading into this season, and his performances have reflected that. His points, rebounds, shooting percentages and minutes per game have decreased from last season, but Barnes has mostly kept him in the rotation because he believes in him and believes that he’ll bounce back.
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Read more of the article here:
Calf injury sidelines Tennessee Vols basketball forward John Fulkerson
 
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#2
#2
iKrager said:
I did want to make a thread discussing the down season Fulkerson has been having. For those who weren’t watching much last season, Fulkerson was pivotal in the first 10 games of the 2016-17 season, iirc he averaged close to a double-double against both ranked Oregon and ranked North Carolina.

This year he hasn’t been close to the type of player we saw last year, why do you think that is? Injuries. Injuries keep piling up for Fulkerson and he’s been battling it all season.

Well, it was reported that now Fulkerson is battling a calf injury sustained during Friday’s practice - which lead to him getting sat against Ole Miss.

Read more of the article here:
Calf injury sidelines Tennessee Vols basketball forward John Fulkerson
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Too skinny--can't help but get banged up.
 
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#5
#5
Will he get another medical redshirt? Asking for a friend. JK I hope he bounces back quickly and gets rid of this injury bug.
 
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#6
#6
Not as serious as a cow injury.
We'd have to put him out to pasture in that case.
 
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#7
#7
Hopefully this keeps him sidelined for the remainder of the season...nothing against him but Walker is playing better and Fulk just isn’t there yet(not sure he will get back to there). Not a knock on the kid but we are getting to crunch time, need to cut the rotation down anyways, and I prefer Walker getting those minutes.
 
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#8
#8
I don't see Fulkerson getting a lot of minutes when he gets healthy because of the solid play of Walker which brings up the question of whether Fulkerson plays at UT next season or if he decides to possibly transfer.
 
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#10
#10
It's a tough pill to swallow for Fulk. Don't ever see him being good where CRB is playing him due to a lack of strength compared to a naturally strong Walker. If he stays a pet of CRB and recovers his strength and shooting touch, he might contribute some off the bench in a year or two. If he wants to play more, he probably needs to transfer.
 
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#11
#11
Tough pill for some to swallow, but I just think he needs a fresh start somewhere else. He might contribute a couple years down the road, but after that early success, his competitive spirit has to want more minutes than he's getting. No one leaves this year, and he isn't passing Williams, Alexander, Schofield, or Walker. Fulk is just too limited offensively, not big enough to hold his ground without fouling defensively, and the injuries only set him further back.
 
#12
#12
bleedingTNorange said:
Hopefully this keeps him sidelined for the remainder of the season...nothing against him but Walker is playing better and Fulk just isn’t there yet(not sure he will get back to there). Not a knock on the kid but we are getting to crunch time, need to cut the rotation down anyways, and I prefer Walker getting those minutes.
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Agree. The rotation needed to b trimed down and even if fulkerson wasn't injured, he needs to sit, Walker is getting it done right now.
 
#14
#14
I don't agree. Fulkerson is a great guy to have available. Even if he doesn't get a single minute he won't be a disruption in the locker room. And Walker can't be in late while nursing a lead... his free throw shooting is bad. Fulkerson's free throw shooting isn't great, but it's much better than DW's.
 
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#15
#15
When he airballed that baby hook against UF, I couldn’t help but be frustrated with his play.

I’m aware he’s limited offensively and he gives it his all, but I don’t think he’s good enough to be in the SEC.

He needs a fresh start at a smaller school.

I appreciate what he’s done for us but sometimes a fresh start is what a player needs. It’s nothing personal.
 
#16
#16
Thunder Good-Oil said:
I don't agree. Fulkerson is a great guy to have available. Even if he doesn't get a single minute he won't be a disruption in the locker room. And Walker can't be in late while nursing a lead... his free throw shooting is bad. Fulkerson's free throw shooting isn't great, but it's much better than DW's.
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If I could trade Fulk for a grad transfer big that could give us 10 and 7 next year, I'd do it in an instant. Anyone we'd bring in for 2019 would likely be an upgrade talentwise. I hate being married to a guy so underdeveloped and raw, that can't stay healthy for the next three years. Scholarships are to precious. I just don't see him turning the corner and passing up guys like Williams, Alexander, and Walker.
 
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#17
#17
VolFreakJosh said:
When he airballed that baby hook against UF, I couldn’t help but be frustrated with his play.

I’m aware he’s limited offensively and he gives it his all, but I don’t think he’s good enough to be in the SEC.

He needs a fresh start at a smaller school.

I appreciate what he’s done for us but sometimes a fresh start is what a player needs. It’s nothing personal.
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Every single mistake that he makes is emphasized by the VN board. Fulkerson handles the ball a lot, gets a lot of assists, gets steals and gets in passing lanes, and takes a lot of charges. He rarely plays enough minutes to settle down offensively. It looks like he'll be able to score when backing defenders in down low and putting up the little half-hook. I think that he uses either hand.

Defensively he's been on a lot of posters this year. But most if the time that's happened when a teammate has list their man and he's attempting to help out.
 
#18
#18
cncchris33 said:
If I could trade Fulk for a grad transfer big that could give us 10 and 7 next year, I'd do it in an instant. Anyone we'd bring in for 2019 would likely be an upgrade talentwise. I hate being married to a guy so underdeveloped and raw, that can't stay healthy for the next three years. Scholarships are to precious. I just don't see him turning the corner and passing up guys like Williams, Alexander, and Walker.
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He's just a freshman. He was playing great as a true freshman... especially versus the eventual national champion. If he's injury prone it's because he's giving great effort. He's had 3. Kicked in the calf, shoulder tear, dislocated elbow/broken wrist.
 
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#20
#20
I'm not writing Fulkerson off. There's a reason that Barnes had him starting last year and often the first off if the bench this year. And it's not because CRB has some weird attraction to him as several have ignorantly suggested.
 
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#21
#21
With Fulkerson willing to accept any role, what better kid could there be on the bench? If he develops an outside shot and adds 10-15 pounds he would be a very important part of the mix.
 
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#22
#22
Thunder Good-Oil said:
With Fulkerson willing to accept any role, what better kid could there be on the bench? If he develops an outside shot and adds 10-15 pounds he would be a very important part of the mix.
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Who said he’s willing to accept any role? I highly doubt if you told him are you willing to play a max of 8-10mpg for the rest of your career he would sign up for that.
 
#24
#24
Thunder Good-Oil said:
I don't agree. Fulkerson is a great guy to have available. Even if he doesn't get a single minute he won't be a disruption in the locker room. And Walker can't be in late while nursing a lead... his free throw shooting is bad. Fulkerson's free throw shooting isn't great, but it's much better than DW's.
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I’m kinda in between. No way Fulk should be seeing near the minutes Walker is or should right now. But think it’s laughable after the brief contribution Fulk provided last year, for knowledgeable posters, to already be saying he should transfer.
 
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