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LARAMIE, Wyo. -- In the span of 35 seconds, Eric Platt was
back. The University of Wyoming sophomore wing took a pass from junior
guard Brandon Ewing and drained a 3-pointer from the right corner.
Following a missed shot by Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Ewing fed Platt
again, and he made another 3 from the same spot on the floor. Those shots extended UW's lead from 10 to 16, and it rolled on
to an easy 78-59 victory Monday at the Arena-Auditorium. Platt finished with 12 points in 22 minutes and was 4 of 7 from
the field - all from 3-point range. Those are the kinds of effort and production that Heath Schroyer
expects from Platt, whom the first-year coach has described as his
best perimeter shooter. But so far, those games have been hard to come by. Platt has battled shin splints since the start of practice back
in October. In fact, he didn't practice for two weeks and didn't
play in the team's two exhibitions. But he has played in all five regular-season games and started
one. Part of that has been Schroyer's desire to go with a bigger
starting lineup; the other has been Platt's health. Monday's game was by far Platt's best in terms of shooting. In
the four previous he was 4 of 15 from 3-point range and 6 of 18
overall. "I don't think my teammates have ever doubted me, especially
Brandon getting me the ball when I'm wide open," he said. "I'm
definitely not going to doubt myself and my ability." Neither is Schroyer, who is counting on Platt to be a consistent
scorer and improve on his numbers from last season when he averaged
6.2 points and shot 39.1 percent from 3-point range. "Eric has struggled a little bit, but I think he kind of got
his rhythm back," Schroyer said. "It couldn't happen at a better
time. "It's been tough. If you take two weeks off and don't practice,
it's really hard to come back and knock down shots at game speed
and all of the things we're trying to do." Shin splints occur when there is repeated stress on the tibia,
or shin bone, along with the tissue that connects the muscle to the
tibia. They are often caused by repeated pounding on hard surfaces. Basketball players at all levels are susceptible. Rest is often
the best treatment for shin splints, and athletes often cut back on
the times they run on hard surfaces. But in basketball that's tough
because players run on hard surfaces all the time. Schroyer said he and UW's medical staff chose caution with Platt
because they didn't want him to develop stress fractures. "They're getting better, but (I'm) still not 100 percent,"
Platt said, "I'm feeling a lot better, playing a lot more minutes
and gradually building myself back up." UW plays its fourth road game of the season at 5 p.m. Saturday
at Akron (4-1), and it has been tough for opponents to win there.
The Zips have grabbed 12 straight and 33 of their last 34 at Rhodes
Arena, which seats only 5,500 people. They are 42-2 there under
fourth-year coach Keith Dambrot. ------ Information from: Wyoming Tribune-Eagle,
http://www.wyomingnews.com
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