Broken foot sidelines Kelly

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2000 | 10:22 a.m.

Perhaps UNLV basketball player Lou Kelly should invest in a four-leaf clover, rabbit's foot or another good luck charm of his choice.

On Tuesday morning, Kelly learned from team physician Dr. Gerald Higgins that he has a fractured fifth left metatarsal. In layman's terms, that's a broken right foot.

For a week, Kelly had been playing with a sore right foot that was presumed to be sprained.

"The plan for him right now is that he'll be out three to six weeks," UNLV head coach Bill Bayno said. "A lot depends on how quick he can recover.

"We plan to get him a lot of work in the weight room (and) do more cardiovascular work once we are able to. One positive that I got out of it is this kid has been through so much already, this is only going to make him a better person and player.

"He's a tough, tough kid. We thought the whole time that his foot was just sore or sprained, but it was broken. It shows you what kind of character he has to be playing with a broken foot."

Kelly entered the Rebels' 85-73 win over New Mexico on Monday night with 4:41 left in the first half. He limped off the court 2:35 later and never returned.

Kelly averaged 25.8 points and 7.1 rebounds during the 1998-99 season at San Bernardino Valley College before he finished his schooling at Los Angeles City College.

He transferred to UNLV from LA City and had to wait nearly 11 months before he was able to join the team.

The process of getting him eligible to play took nearly a month longer than expected, due to the paperwork involved in his transfer to UNLV.

Kelly made his debut last Saturday in the Rebels' 98-73 victory over Air Force, scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds.

"Just his presence helps us," Bayno said. "Our plan is he gets back before (the) end of (the) season and gets better in practice.

"It's just a tough break. It's part of life. Lou would have been (in the lineup) obviously, if he didn't get hurt."

UNLV trainer Dave Tomchek said Kelly will be reevaluated on Thursday. At that time it will be decided whether Kelly's foot will be placed in a cast or be operated on.