Pope Is Hopeful Zac Seljaas Returns From Injury For Season Opener

PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball senior forward Zac Seljaas suffered a foot injury that sidelined him during the team’s foreign tour to Italy last month.

Head coach Mark Pope addressed the media on Tuesday to recap the trip to Italy and give an update on Seljaas’ status.

“Hoping he’s going to be back for the opener,” said Pope. “He had a Jones fracture, a really simple standard operating procedure. It’s a super simple surgery. It’s not even really an incision with a scapple, it’s kind of like a puncture incision.”

Pope said there is hope that forward Zac Seljaas could be ready for the season opener in early November. Seljaas suffered a jones fracture in Italy. #BYU

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) September 3, 2019

Seljaas is one of five seniors on Pope’s first roster as head man of the Cougars. Last season, Seljaas started in 14 and played in 32 games as a junior averaging 7.1 points per game and shooting one of the highest three-point percentages on the team at 37-percent.

“So we’re hoping he gets out of this cast in two weeks,” Pope said. “Non-weight barring for the first maybe five weeks and he’s getting really good on this scooter.”

#BYU basketball head coach Mark Pope just had a roundtable conversation with a few members of the media recapping the team’s trip to Italy. pic.twitter.com/6q5ftcbUMY

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) September 3, 2019

The injury occurred during one of BYU’s four games in Italy. Assistant coach Chris Burgess explained what happened to Seljaas on BYUtv earlier on Tuesday.

“It was just one of those freak things where there was a shot up and he was planted and ready to turn and run on offense. And as he was turning the other player from the other team just kind of stepped on his foot and as he turned, he was pushing down, Zac was trying to go the other way. He (Seljaas) knew it right away, he came over to coach right away and you could tell on his face and so, he’s recovering,” said Burgess on BYUtv.

BYU begins practice on Tuesday, September 24th and the regular season opens up on Tuesday, November 5th against Cal State Fullerton in the Marriott Center.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.