MISSOULA — Montana big man Jamar Akoh did not travel with the Grizzlies on their most recent trip down I-15 last weekend. But the UM senior did emerge from the locker room during Thursday’s practice, his recently surgically repaired right knee bound in a brace.
The timetable for Akoh’s return may be uncertain. The 6-foot-8, 255-pounder suffered a tear to his right meniscus during the non-conference portion of Montana’s schedule before the calendar turned to 2019.
In UM’s 100-59 win over Idaho, Akoh was on the wrong end of a hard foul that was not called in the first half, taking a nasty spill on the court and coming up lame. He played the first minute of the second half before taking a seat for the rest of the blowout win. He has missed Montana’s last three games.
On Thursday, Skyline Sports confirmed with Akoh that he is one week out of having surgery on the injured knee. Meniscus surgery has a standard recovery time of four to six weeks.
The Grizzlies are currently riding a nine-game winning streak with Saturday’s rivalry matchup in Missoula against Montana State upcoming. Akoh is certainly out for Montana’s remaining four home games, a stretch that includes Saturday’s showdown, a Monday game against Northern Colorado and next weekend’s home stand against Southern Utah and Northern Arizona.
Akoh suffered a torn ligament in his shooting (right) wrist during UM’s secret scrimmage against Washington State before the season. He missed seven games during the non-conference schedule.
When he returned to the Griz lineup, the former Cal State-Fullerton transfer was simply dominant for stretches. Akoh surpassed 20 points on seven different occasions on 15 starts, including a season-high 25 points in a 75-68 win over Weber State.
“You can’t play without your anchor when your program is built on having one,” UM fifth-year head coach Travis DeCuire said following his team’s 60-53 win over North Dakota State behind Akoh’s 17 points and eight rebounds. “With him out, we couldn’t throw the ball inside, we couldn’t play inside-out and it affected our ability to get high percentage shots.”
Akoh posted four double-doubles, including scoring 21 points and grabbing 18 rebounds in a win over Sac State and scoring 22 points to go with 17 rebounds in a win over Idaho State.
Last season, Akoh started all 34 games for the Big Sky Conference champions. He averaged 12.8 points and 6.6 rebounds on his way to earning third-team All-Big Sky honors.
Akoh has not ruled out returning this season. DeCuire confirmed that Akoh could return by the Big Sky Tournament or his career could be finished as a Griz.
Montana’s game against Montana State tips at 7 p.m. on Saturday night at Dahlberg Arena.
