Yates hopes to be back for Belmont
Following a 74-66 victory over Lamar on Thursday night, Middle Tennessee head coach Kermit Davis said All-Sun Belt forward Desmond Yates is on track for a timely return to the lineup after undergoing knee surgery the week before the season started.
"(Yates) is progressing really well," Davis said. "They have penciled maybe Belmont (December 8th) as the game he will be ready for. He was kind of wanting (to play against UAB on December 2nd) but I think that's his goal right now is to be ready for the Belmont game."
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"He was in the pool (Thursday) and is going to start getting on the floor on Sunday, doing some jogging, shooting and working out some. We talked about it today and I think Belmont is kind of the target date."
Without Yates in the lineup, MT has opened the season with a 2-2 record, winning a pair of home games and dropping two road games.
Davis called his team "a work in progress" after the win over Lamar, a game the Raiders prevailed in despite some inconsistent play.
Davis expects that will continue to be the case when Yates gets back in the lineup and the team has to re-adjust to having its best offensive player on the floor.
If he is able to return in time to face Belmont, the Raiders will have Yates on the floor for four games before the team opens Sun Belt Conference play at New Orleans on December 31st.
"When Boogie comes back it will be a work in progress too, but I think he is going to have two or three good weeks before league play starts and he'll be really ready to go," Davis said.