Sloan scores 22 in Knox Indy Pro Am debut, discusses George’s injury

Donald Sloan talked with local reporters about Paul George’s injury and how it impacts the Pacers.

Point guard Donald Sloan has kept a busy offseason, training hard ahead of his second year with the Pacers. His offseason home is in Texas, but he’s spent time in Indy working out, especially at the team’s facility.

On Saturday night, he played in Knox Indy Pro Am over at The Jungle on the campus of IUPUI. Sloan scored 22 points but his Blue Team came up just short, falling to the Gold Team, 105-100.

Sloan scored 22 points in his Knox Indy Pro Am debut. (Photos by Defro.)

Sloan made 8-of-18 shots, and particularly struggled from deep. He was off the mark on six of seven 3-point field goals. He connected on 5-of-7 free throw attempts.

Sloan also tallied six assists and four rebounds in 24 minutes.

The night after his teammate, Paul George, suffered a gruesome injury during a USA Basketball intrasquad scrimmage – an open tibia-fibula fractuce – Sloan was a popular man as the local media wanted his reaction.

“We were out eating and George Hill had just left the restaurant and we had just gotten to the car and we’re watching it live on an iPhone,” Sloan told local reporters, via FOX 59. “Then one of my friends said ‘Somebody’s hurt.'”

“I was like ‘Oh, let me see’. They wouldn’t show who was on the court and then I go to Twitter and it said ‘Oh no, not Paul’ and I’m like ‘Oh Man.’ I didn’t know what happened, but I knew he was the one that was hurt.”

“…I’m sure Paul is going to comeback with high spirits, high hopes. With the A1 care that we have, I’m sure it will be a speedy recovery.”

George will certainly be missed on the floor. He was the team’s leading scored, averaging 21.7 points per game last season. But he’ll be missed in many other ways.

“…He’s the one who held the locker room together as long as it was together,” Sloan said. “You’re losing the face of the team, great athlete, but your losing that glue guy in the locker room as well.”

George should be on crutches for three months, and then it’ll be another three months before he does on-court work. The injury is very unique and thus it’s difficult to find a sound comparison. It’ll likely take him 12-16 months to make a full recovery, though he is an incredible athlete and will fight to break the odds.