Butler loses loses top returning scorer and rebounder Roosevelt Jones for the season

As if filling Brad Stevens’ shoes wasn’t a tough enough task for new Butler head coach Brandon Miller, he’ll now have to take the initial steps without the Bulldogs’ leading returning scorer and rebounder.

Butler junior forward Roosevelt Jones will miss the entire 2013-14 season after suffering a wrist injury during the Bulldogs’ recent trip to Australia. The program announced the injury through a press release Friday afternoon.

“First and foremost, our thoughts are with Roosevelt,” Miller said in the release. “He has worked very hard to position himself to have a terrific junior hear. Having said that, Roosevelt is a tough-minded, determined young man, and I am confident he will return from this adversity an even better player and person. Despite not playing, Roosevelt will continue to have an impact in leading this team as we move forward.”

Jones, a 6’4 forward, averaged 10.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and a team-high 3.5 assists as a sophomore for Butler last season. He was the lone Bulldog to start all 36 games in 2012-13, and was looking to extend a streak of 67 consecutive starts in the upcoming season.

It’s been a tumultuous offseason for a Butler program making its second conference move in as many years. The Bulldogs, who lost Stevens to the Boston Celtics in July, will start their first season in the new Big East Conference this fall. BU made the jump to the Atlantic 10 for the 2012-13 season after spending 33 years as a member of the Horizon League.

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