In sports, there are some athletes that have a difficult time avoiding injury. Over the years in the NBA, many of the game's top big men had their careers cut short due to chronic injuries. In the case of players like Ralph Sampson, Gheorghe Muresan, Rik Smits, Yao Ming, and Arvydas Sabonis, they were all plagued by foot injuries.

UTEP center Matt Willms can relate. Over his last two seasons with the Miners, his college basketball career has been delayed by an injury to his right foot. He suffered a stress fracture in January 2015 and had surgery 12 months later. At practice today, UTEP assistant coach Phil Johnson said that Willms was back in a walking boot. However, Miner Rush reported that the injury is only a sprain and the junior big man from Ontario, Canada is only expected to miss two weeks.

Willms is a major part of UTEP's front court and when healthy, he is most valuable on defense where his 7-1 size and long wingspan can disrupt plenty of shots from opposing teams. He has only averaged 5.2 points per game but the Miners do not need Willms to become a prolific scorer. Without him, 6-11 freshman Kelvin Jones becomes the lone center on the roster.

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