Western Kentucky star big man Charles Bassey will miss the rest of the season after suffering a tibial plateau fracture in Saturday's win over Arkansas.
Bassey will undergo season-ending surgery Tuesday, and the rehabilitation process is expected to take 6-9 months.
Bassey, a 6-foot-11 sophomore from Nigeria, earned Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in Conference USA last season. He initially declared for the NBA draft, but he withdrew his name at the deadline to return to the Hilltoppers.
Bassey earned preseason All-America honors from multiple outlets entering this season and was named to the preseason All-Conference USA team. Through 10 games, he was averaging 15.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. Bassey has four double-doubles so far this season, including a 24-point, 12-rebound effort in a win over Fordham in late November.
He was a five-star prospect coming out of high school, ranked No. 18 in the ESPN 100 for the 2018 class.