clarinews@clarinet.com (MIKE BARNES, UPI Sports Writer) (01/18/90)
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- Ron Harper, the centerpiece of the Los Angeles Clippers' resurgence, will miss the rest of this season with the same career-threatening knee injury suffered last year by teammate Danny Manning, it was announced Wednesday. Harper suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn cartilage in his right knee Tuesday night after scoring 33 points in the Clippers' 106-98 victory over Charlotte at the LA Sports Arena. Team spokesman Paul Feinberg said the injury was diagnosed by team physician Tony Daly. Harper will undergo arthroscopic surgery at an undetermined date. Harper, a 6-foot-6 guard in his fourth season, was averaging 22.8 points and 5.9 rebounds a game this year. He limped off the court Tuesday night with 7:04 remaining after he caught a pass from Gary Grant under the basket and his knee buckled. There was no contact on the play. Daly first diagnosed the injury as a possible sprain, but Harper said he heard a ``pop'' in his knee. A magnetic resonance imaging test -- a sophisicated X-ray -- performed at Cedars-Sinai Hospital disclosed the severity of the injury. ``Our No. 1 concern is a complete recovery for Ron Harper,'' Clippers General Manager Elgin Baylor said. ``The team has played extremely well and Ron has had a major effort in the team's success. At this time, we need an extra effort from each and every player to help soften the blow.'' Manning suffered virtually the same injury just over a year ago -- Jan. 4, 1989. After extensive rehabilitation he returned Nov. 29, 12 games into this season. Manning missed more than 80 games. Harper, who turns 26 on Saturday, came to the Clippers with three draft picks from Cleveland on Nov. 16 for Reggie Williams and the draft rights to Danny Ferry. Almost immediately, the NBA's perennial losers began to play well. Los Angeles, 2-5 without Harper, stood 16-19 after the victory over the Hornets. The Clippers have beaten Boston, Chicago, Detroit and Atlanta with the former Miami (Ohio) star. ``The players have a winning frame of mind,'' Coach Don Casey said. ``Ron enhanced that. Now everyone has to go up a notch. The players have to work harder. I think we can still win a lot of games. We'll just have to do it in a different way.'' Harper is in the final year of his contract. To replace him on the roster, the Clippers activated rookie guard Jay Edwards from the injured list. The former Indiana star, who had patellar tendinitis in his left knee, has not played this season. -- This, and all articles in this news hierarchy are Copyright 1990 by the wire service or information provider and licenced to Clarinet Communications Corp. for distribution. Except for free samples, only paid subscribers may access these articles. Any unauthorized access, reproduction or transmission is strictly prohibited. We will reward the first provider of information that helps us stop violators of this copyright. Send reports to reward@clarinet.com.