Roban battling injury woes

Steve Addy

Thursday, Oct. 5, 2000 | 9:57 a.m.

Some advice for Jim Roban: Watch out for banana peels.

Roban, the former star at Bishop Gorman, is stuck behind the injury eight-ball at San Diego State, and Aztecs coach Steve Fisher is wondering if the 6-foot-6 senior shooting guard will ever play a vital role on the team.

Having missed last season after major back surgery -- two vertabrae were fused and a steel rod was inserted -- Roban is again sidelined because of shoulder surgery. He separated the shoulder in August and again in September, when surgery was performed.

Now Roban isn't expected back on the court until December -- barring any fresh injuries for Fisher's first SDSU recruit.

"It's very frustrating for Jim," Fisher said Wednesday at Mountain West media day at the Four Seasons Hotel. "I think he is wondering what dark cloud is hanging over his head, and will it ever go away."

Roban, scheduled to graduate in December, has had a spotty college career since coming out of Gorman in 1996. He signed with Montana, sat out 1996-97 as a redshirt, then transferred to Dixie College in 1997. He played well at Dixie in 1998-99, averaging 13.8 points for a 27-9 club that finished sixth in the national junior college tournament.

But since arriving at San Diego State, Roban has had nothing but bad luck.

"I thought he had the potential to be our best player last year," Fisher said. "He said he might be the first person ever in Division I basketball who has been on scholarship for three years and never played. We hope that's not the case."

Because of last year's injury, Roban could receive an extra year of NCAA eligibility if he petitions for it.

BYU starting point guard Michael Vranes is likely lost for the season due to ankle surgery and big-time forward recruit Garner Meads is coming off surgery to remove calcium deposits in his knee.

Meads, a McDonald's All-American from Salt Lake City, is also penciled in for his two-year Mormon mission after the season, coach Steve Cleveland said.

Utah junior small forward Britton Johnsen is back from his mission, but his status is uncertain because his patella tendinitis worsened during his two-year hiatus. He was a key reserve on the 1998 squad that lost to Kentucky in the NCAA title game.