Cavs’ Kellum out for season with ACL tear

The challenge of replacing point guard Sharnee Zoll suddenly appears quite a bit more daunting.
After reviewing the results on an MRI on Tuesday, Virginia coach Debbie Ryan discovered that junior guard Paulisha Kellum had torn her ACL and would be lost for the upcoming season.
The injury was suffered on Saturday during a scrimmage at George Washington.
Ryan was fairly certain of the extent of the injury moments after it occurred.
“I knew that the chances were extremely high that it was torn,” Ryan said, “as much as I didn’t want to hear it.”
Kellum, who started 31 games last year and averaged 9.0 points per game, had been penciled in early as the heir apparent to Zoll, who finished her stellar career as the ACC’s all-time assist leader.
Initially, Kellum remained hopeful that it was merely a sprain. That only made it worse when she learned that she would miss the season. She will still have two years of eligibility.
“I think she is fine right now, but she was very, very disappointed,” Ryan said. “She was destroyed. It was very hard when she got the news.
“You always keep a lot of hope until you get that MRI, but she felt like maybe it wasn’t torn because she was feeling better every day. She didn’t really know. She will bounce back quickly.”
Virginia, which went 24-10 last year, will have to do the same.
The Cavaliers do have two point guards on the roster. Britnee Millner, a senior, and rookie Arianna Moorer will likely battle for the starting spot as the season opener on Nov. 14 against High Point inches closer.
“Plan B is that we will probably put Britnee there,” Ryan said, “and [Moorer] will have to come along a little faster than we planned.”
Millner saw her playing time increase rapidly late last season, averaging 23.8 minutes and 5.2 points per game over the team’s final five contests.
“A whole lot of my confidence came from my grandma because we would talk after pretty much every game,” Millner said. “My teammates would tell me that I was getting better. Coach Ryan would tell me that I was getting better.
“I could believe what I wanted to believe, but having that one extra person tell you they have faith in you … it just bolsters your confidence all the more. I felt like by the end of the year that I could play the game that I used to play.”
Ryan believes that Millner is prepared to lead the team’s high-powered offense.
“Britnee is really ready for this and has matured tremendously,” Ryan said. “I am really not worried about Britnee at all even if I have to put her back at [shooting guard] for stretches. She will handle that fine.”
Millner served as a spark plug at times last year and is physically prepared to play extended minutes.
“She brings energy and she can disrupt things,” Ryan said. “She can force teams to play faster. She is a player that you can count on for certain things, and now I just have to give her a bigger role.
“Britnee is like the Energizer bunny. She is a crazy woman half the time.”
Moorer, a two-time all-state performer from C.D. Hylton High, impressed the coaching staff in short spurts against George Washington this past weekend.
“She just has to get better at the nuances of playing point guard,” Ryan said. “Most of it is just learning how to lead yourself before you can lead a team.
“Ari is a natural point guard but she has a lot to learn.”
Virginia may also use a contingency plan. At times last season, guard Monica Wright operated the offense from the top of the key in set pieces.
“We will definitely put her there for short stretches but I don’t want to do that to her if I can help it,” Ryan said. “She is learning it and she already knows most of it having been here for three years.
“She’s willing to do whatever we want her to, but I am doing my best not to put her there. It will probably change the way that we play because we may have to put in a couple of different sets.”
Virginia plays an exhibition game on Oct. 7 against DT3 at John Paul Jones Arena at 7 p.m.