Originally published September 15, 2010 at 8:10 PM | Page modified October 4, 2010 at 2:31 PM

Breshers' UW basketball career cut short

Chronic knee pain and shin surgery delayed Tyreese Breshers' start at Washington and medical reasons are ending his brief basketball career...

By Percy Allen

Seattle Times staff reporter

Latest from the Husky Football & Basketball blogs

Chronic knee pain and shin surgery delayed Tyreese Breshers' start at Washington and medical reasons are ending his brief basketball career after just one season.

The 6-foot-7, 255-pound sophomore forward will retire from basketball, depleting the Huskies' thin frontline.

"It's a big loss as far as our team," coach Lorenzo Romar said. "He was someone that we had big plans for. It gives someone else an opportunity to step in and do well, but it's something that we got to make up some ground on as a team to replace what we miss in him."

Romar declined to discuss Breshers' reason for leaving citing a promise to Breshers and his family and HIPAA regulations prohibit school officials from publicly discussing his medical condition.

Breshers fractured his shin during his senior year at K.C. Price III High in Los Angeles when he was kicked in the leg. After arriving at Washington in 2008, he underwent surgery in which a rod was inserted through his patella tendon into his shin.

The surgery stabilized the fractured shin, but the rod irritated his knee and forced him to redshirt the 2008-09 season.

Breshers returned last season but his recovery was slower than expected.

"I'm about 75 percent of where I expect to be," he said at the time.

Breshers started 12 games and played in all 34 games, averaging 3.0 points and 2.6 rebounds. He ranks fifth all-time among UW freshmen with 26 blocks.

Without Breshers, the Huskies will rely on a quartet of big men that includes senior Matthew Bryan-Amaning, junior Darnell Gant, junior college transfer Aziz N'Diaye and freshman Desmond Simmons.

N'Diaye will likely take over Breshers' role as the tough, physical enforcer in the middle.

Romar said Breshers will remain at Washington on a medical scholarship, work toward earning his degree and "stay close to the team as much as possible."

"His career ended prematurely," Romar said. "It's sad for him. It's sad for Husky basketball fans because he was not only a great kid, but they didn't come close to seeing what Tyreese Breshers was going to bring to this basketball team.

"He was really going to be a player for us."

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com

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