Stitt likely out Tuesday, talks about his injury

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Jan 24 00:45:46 GMT-04:00 2010

CLEMSON – A disconsolate Demontez Stitt stood in the hallway outside of Clemson’s locker room following the Tigers 60-47 loss to the Duke Blue Devils, and admitted that his sore left foot is bothering him worse than he has let on and that he will probably miss Tuesday’s important road game against Boston College.

Stitt sprained the foot last week against N.C. State, and battled through the injury enough to play 36 minutes against Georgia Tech earlier this week. He tweaked the foot on a late drive against the Yellow Jackets, however, and didn’t practice Thursday and only practiced lightly on Friday.

Saturday, Stitt was one of just two Tigers in double figures, scoring 10 points, but said that after sitting down during halftime, the foot worsened considerably, and he now feels like in order for it to get better, he needs to sit out at least one game.

“I can’t really attack like I want to attack," Stitt said. “I will probably have to sit out against Boston College on Tuesday. This is killing me right now. I feel like we are a better team when I push the ball, but I just can’t do it right now. I don’t want to sit out any games, but it looks like I have to do that. If I keep playing, it’s not going to fully heal like I want.”

Stitt said that sitting out runs against his competitive nature.

“I am such a competitor, and I don’t like sitting out,” he said. “But right now, the best thing for me to do is let my foot heal and get better.”

Stitt said that he had thumb surgery in high school that forced him to miss eight weeks, but he feels like the foot is worse than that injury. “I had thumb surgery on my right hand, but in high school, you can play with your left hand. But I can’t play on my foot like this.”

Stitt said that, in hindsight, it might have been better to sit out the Georgia Tech game.

“It would have been a good decision to sit after I hurt it, but I am such a competitor and want to help the team win,” he said. “At the same time, I have to do what is best for my health right now and sit out against Boston College. I talked to the trainer just now, and we will discuss with Coach Purnell tomorrow. And I really felt like I was starting to come into my own.”