Ailing Witherspoon won't duck UT game

MEMPHIS - University of Memphis freshman Wesley Witherspoon is scheduled to have surgery Monday to fix the left knee that recently began bothering him.

But if Witherspoon plays Saturday at Tennessee like he did Wednesday against Rice, coach John Calipari might have to resist an urge to rip the scalpel out of Dr. Barry Phillips' hands.

"You see him (Wednesday) and you'd say, 'Why would he need to get surgery now if he could do that?'" Calipari said. "But in the same sense, I don't want him doing anything that would hurt himself physically. I'm trying to figure it out."

Witherspoon, a lanky 6-8 freshman from Lilburn, Ga., scored eight points (3-of-5 field goal shooting) with three assists and three rebounds in Wednesday's 80-52 victory over Rice. He did it after learning this week that he had torn the meniscus in his left knee, an injury that might have occurred earlier in the season but didn't manifest itself until he felt a tweak in Monday's practice.

The team's medical staff told Witherspoon he could probably continue playing on the bad knee and have it fixed after the season, but he would be risking long-term damage. If Witherspoon has it repaired now with a minimally invasive arthroscopic procedure, he could be back on the court in three or four weeks -- plenty of time to make an impact heading into the Conference USA and NCAA Tournaments.

But before Witherspoon has the surgery, he said he wanted to help the No. 22-ranked Tigers in Saturday's spectacle at Thompson-Boling Arena against the rival Volunteers.

"It's my decision," Witherspoon said. "It's kind of a mutual thing. I know it's a big game, and I know it means a lot to the people on this team, so I want to be able to help my team out in that game."

And Calipari expects Witherspoon to be a major factor. Though he played just three minutes Saturday against UAB -- not because of the knee but rather an unnecessary technical foul he committed early in the game -- he showed no signs of being injured against Rice.

Witherspoon entered the game midway through the first half and immediately converted a runner from the baseline. Later, he drained a 15-foot jumper and showed plenty of lift when he blocked the layup attempt of 6-8 Suleiman Braimoh. Witherspoon had another series of impressive plays in the second half and finished with 20 minutes, his longest effort since Dec. 13 at Georgetown.

Though Calipari isn't a physician, he couldn't help but watch it and wonder whether Witherspoon really needs to have surgery at all. And if Witherspoon wants to play against Tennessee, Calipari has no plans to stop him.

"In practice (Monday), he was really good and I'm like, 'This is crazy,'" Calipari said. "But in practice the day before the game, he had to step off the court.

"You need every weapon you can because down the line of who they have ... you've got a ton of guys there and you better have some weapons going back the other way because the things being shot at you aren't arrows. But (we don't need him) to the point of him hurting himself."

Witherspoon at least hopes he can go out with a bang if he indeed is forced to sit out a few weeks, which he knows will be an unpleasant experience.

"It's going to kill me," Witherspoon said. "Just watching my team, hopefully they'll be able to handle things without me. But it's going to kill me."

The good news is that Witherspoon has been playing on the wing during the Tigers' nine-game winning streak rather than at point guard, where he started for five games. The Tigers can use their depth at that position and perhaps make up his 16.7 minutes per game by playing senior Antonio Anderson more.

Witherspoon has also been playing some power forward, where Memphis can use junior Shawn Taggart or freshman Matt Simpkins. There's also a wild card with 6-11 Angel Garcia, who is hoping to be granted his eligibility by the NCAA today. Though Calipari said Garcia isn't really ready to contribute -- Monday was his first practiced in three months -- it wouldn't hurt to have another body available.

"His knee is tweaked right now, and we all want him to play, but if there's a better opportunity for him to come back later on in the season, then you just have to do that," Taggart said. "We don't want him to mess his career up."