Injuries can affect a sports team in such a bad way. 

The starting center for the boys basketball team, Shane Ooms, suffered a dislocated ankle at a volleyball tournament on Jan. 18. This injury will cost him to miss the rest of the basketball season.

“I’m sad I’m not going to be able to play anymore, but I’m excited to see the game from a different perspective being able to see the whole court from the bench,” Ooms said.

Head coach Kevin Cain knows that losing Shane could be a major setback for the team. 

“Losing a player like Shane affects the team. Shane was an important piece to our team and he was playing better with each game that passed in the new year” Cain said. 

With Ooms getting injured, it opened up an opportunity for others players to step up and do big things for the team.

“The changes that need to be made are for other players to step up in the absence of Shane and play valuable minutes. It is an unfortunate accident that comes with opportunity for others to step into a huge vacancy,” Cain said.

Someone that will make a huge impact will be Michael Zito. Zito is a four-year player for this program and knows what needs to be done to step up in this situation. 

“I’m going to keep putting in as much work as I can to be able to help this team,” Zito said.

Minooka’s next game is at Yorkville Friday, Feb. 14.