No. 14 Horned Frogs lose freshman forward Mayen to meniscus injury

TCU freshman Lat Mayen suffered a meniscus injury last week and will miss two to three months of practice, coach Jamie Dixon said Thursday.

The 6-foot-8 forward from Adelaide, Australia, was on track to redshirt this season. But without him, the Frogs are down a player in practice, and he loses development time, Dixon said.

Mayen is the second TCU player to suffer a meniscus injury this season. Sophomore guard Jaylen Fisher was out from August until the start of the season in November with the same injury.

Mayen, originally from Sudan, was considered one of the top recruits in Australia last year, averaging 12.0 points and 5.3 rebounds for Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence.

While Mayen will miss practice time, Dixon said freshman center Kevin Samuel will join team workouts after the fall semester ends Friday. The Frogs were awaiting word on his grades, and they are in order for the spring semester, Dixon said.

Samuel is a four-star recruit from Houston rated the seventh-best prospect in Texas last season and eighth-best center nationally by 247Sports.com. ESPN gave him an overall national rank of 82.

TCU was idle this week for final exams. The 14th-ranked Horned Frogs resume action Monday against Texas Southern and will recognize TSU alum and former I.M. Terrell and Dunbar high school basketball coach Robert Hughes at halftime.

Hughes was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in September, recognizing a career that made him the winningest boys basketball coach in America. He spoke to the team at practice on Thursday.

This story was originally published December 14, 2017 at 5:07 PM with the headline "No. 14 Horned Frogs lose freshman forward Mayen to meniscus injury."