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'Bad break' for Mikulas, ECU
Bonesville.net staff report
�2004 Bonesville.net East Carolina starting power
forward Gabriel Mikulas broke his right arm in practice on Wednesday, which
likely concludes his playing career for the Pirates.
�He�s probably done,� said
somber-sounding ECU coach Bill Herrion on Thursday afternoon as his club
prepared to face No. 9 Louisville at 9 p.m. at Williams Arena at Minges
Coliseum (ESPN2). �He was playing defense and got tangled up on a screen. It
was just kind of a freak situation. You could tell right away it was bad. He
was in a lot of pain.�
Mikulas averaged 13.0 points,
6.8 rebounds and 27.0 minutes as a senior this season for ECU (8-4, 0-2
C-USA). Mikulas (6-foot-8, 235 pounds), from Cordoba, Argentina, moved into
a starting role as a freshman and holds the ECU career record for free
throws made with 381.
His 1,086 career points put
him 15th on ECU�s all-time list. Mikulas has 502 career rebounds.
Rookie of the year in the
Colonial Athletic Association as a freshman in 2000-01, Mikulas averaged
15.0 points and 5.7 rebounds.
He was suspended for the first
13 games of his sophomore season because he had played on a club team in his
native country which included some pro players, an NCAA violation.
Herrion recalled Mikulas�
recruiting visit to Greenville.
�He had long hair and
sunglasses,� Herrion said. �I wasn�t sure if he was a basketball player or
one of the Beatles.�
Mikulas has proven himself to
be a player in some of the Pirates� biggest wins. He scored 14 points in
just 15 minutes in an 87-77 win over Louisville as a sophomore and
contributed seven assists in another upset, a 51-46 triumph over Marquette
in that same 2001-02 season.
Inspired by the largest crowd
in arena history, 8,081, Mikulas erupted for 22 points and had 11 rebounds
against Marquette�s bigger frontline as ECU stunned the Golden Eagles again,
73-70, on Dec. 30 last season.
The injury to Mikulas will
probably result in an expanded role for 6-8 Kinston product Corey Rouse, who
has averaged 4.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 12.7 minutes as a sophomore.
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Bonesville.net. All rights reserved. This material may not be
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02/23/2007 11:44:02 AM
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