Cordell Pemsl’s junior season is over for the Iowa Hawkeyes, the program has announced. The news comes shortly before Iowa’s highly anticipated matchup against Pitt in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Junior Cordell Pemsl to Have Season Ending Surgery: https://t.co/SUAktqxYyR // #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/vuAZ5s6Vl1
— Iowa Basketball (@IowaHoops) November 28, 2018
The rumors have been flying for weeks now about the injury that had kept Pemsl out, and now we know officially that he will have hardware removed from near his knee that was inserted during his high school playing career. The operation will occur at the end of the school semester.
“It was hoped this procedure could wait until the end of the season, but is now determined the hardware removal is necessary before he will be able to return to the court,” head coach Fran McCaffery said in the release. “Cordell really worked hard preparing for his junior season and this is an unfortunate setback. We will submit a medical hardship waiver request to the Big Ten Conference after the season.”
Given that Pemsl has only played 13 minutes of one game this season, hopefully this request will be granted, which will give Iowa some nice depth at forward for the next few years.
“I have been attempting to play through some chronic irritation caused by the hardware during preseason practice, but after consulting with our training staff it is determined that the best course of action is to correct the problem before returning to the court,” Pemsl said in the release. “Although I am disappointed that I will be unable to help the team on the court this season, I am confident in my teammates and will do everything I can to be a good teammate from the sidelines.”
How this impacts Iowa in the long term is yet to be determined, but with Pemsl out and Nunge redshirting, it sounds like we’ll be seeing a lot more of Ryan Kriener and Riley Till in the backup forward roles. Hopefully depth below the basket doesn’t become an issue.
We wish nothing but the best for Cordell, and wish him a speedy recovery!