Stanford men’s basketball coach Johnny Dawkins has announced that senior guard Aaron Bright will miss the remainder of the year with a dislocated right shoulder.
Bright, who suffered the injury last week in practice, has elected to undergo season-ending surgery next month.
Bright will continue to complete coursework toward an undergraduate degree in Science, Technology and Society and is expected to graduate in June.
“Aaron has played an important role within our program during his career, which makes the timing of this injury so unfortunate,” said Dawkins. “Aaron has been a leader for us on and off the court. We are committed to assisting Aaron in every way possible to ensure he makes necessary progress in the classroom toward finishing his degree. We also hope that surgery goes well and wish him a speedy recovery.”
“It’s a really tough blow,” said Bright. “I can guarantee you that I wouldn’t want to play and battle on the court with anyone else other than the guys in that locker room. We have created such a bond. I’m so grateful to have had Coach Dawkins and such a prestigious group of coaches guide me to become a better basketball player. I just want to thank the entire basketball staff, athletic trainer Tomoo Yamada, sports performance coach Juan Pablo Reggiardo and all the fans for their support. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Bright was averaging 5.9 points in seven games this year off the bench. The MVP of Stanford’s 2012 Postseason NIT championship run, Bright averaged 8.7 points and 3.0 assists in 105 career games while shooting 38.3 percent overall, 37.5 percent from three-point territory and 81.3 percent from the foul line.
Bright, whose 316 career assists rank 10th in school history, enjoyed his best season as a sophomore in 2011-12, averaging 11.7 points and 3.7 assists while shooting 43.2 percent overall and 43.6 percent from beyond the arc. Bright was a catalyst during Stanford’s NIT title, coming off the bench in all five games to average a team-high 16.8 points while shooting 64.1 percent overall and 66.7 percent from long range.
By Brian Risso/Stanford Athletics
By Brian Risso/Stanford Athletics
By Brian Risso/Stanford Athletics