Dec. 5, 2005

Duquesne University junior forward/center Kieron Achara, who was diagnosed with a torn labrum in his left shoulder on December 1, met with a specialist this morning and has decided to have surgery to repair the injury. The surgery, scheduled for December 15, will sideline the left-handed Achara for the remainder of the season.

"I am very, very sorry to hear the news about Kieron," said head coach Danny Nee. "We were hoping he could possibly rehab the injury and continue to contribute to the team, because he is so important to us. I spoke with him this morning and know that he is very upset by the news. He's a great person, captain and leader and he will be missed. We are going to have to make some serious adjustments without him."

Achara, a preseason second team All-Atlantic 10 pick, injured the shoulder while blocking a shot in a preseason scrimmage versus Cleveland State on November 12. The 6-9, 260-pound Stirling, Scotland native, who entered the season ranked third on Duquesne's career field goal accuracy list at 54.5 percent, went 5-of-22 from the field in three games while trying to play through the injury.

He came off the bench to score six points and grab five rebounds in 20 minutes of Duquesne's 73-58 win over Robert Morris on Saturday.

"I'm just going to have to be patient with this," said Achara. "Hopefully I can work hard, rehab after surgery and come back a better player. I'm going to be there for the team for the rest of the season. I'll be at practice and at games. I have some talented teammates and it is time for them to step up and shine."

Achara, the 2004-05 Atlantic 10 Chris Daniels Award winner (most improved player), averaged 11.5 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game last season.

Duquesne (1-3) hosts cross-town rival Pitt (5-0) in the annual City Game on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at the Palumbo Center. Game time is 8:05 p.m.

ACHARA'S CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• 2004-05 Atlantic 10 Chris Daniels Award (most improved player)
• 2005-06 Preseason Second Team All-Atlantic 10
• Second on team with 29 career double-digit scoring games
• Team-high nine career double-doubles
• Second on team in career starts with 36

ACHARA'S CAREER STATS

YEAR  G/GS  MIN/AVG   FG-AT   PCT   3M-AT  PCT  FT-AT    PCT  REB      A  TO  BK  S  PTS-AVG2004  29/4  484/16.7   58-94  .617  0-2    .000  58-80   .725 106-3.7 11  30  33   8 174-6.02005  30/30 877/29.2  119-231 .515  0-6    .000 108-146  .740 202-6.7 30  62  46  21 346-11.52006   3/2   66/22.0    5-22  .227  1-4    .250   7-9    .778  11-3.7  3  8   2    0  18-6.0
Total 62/36 1427/23.0 182-347 .524  1-12   .083  173-235 .736 319-5.1 44  100 81  29 538-8.7