Sports Illustrated reported this week that Indiana Hoosiers sophomore guard James Blackmon Jr. underwent surgery last week to repair torn meniscus cartilage in his left knee. Coach Tom Crean stressed that there was no ligament damage at all.

Blackmon Jr. will miss about four to six weeks and will be back at full strength sometime in September. Practice for the season starts in October, which will give him plenty of time to get back to 100 percent.

“It was a tough setback for James and all of us, but in the scheme of things relatively minor in the way that it has all been handled,” coach Crean said. “He had a great spring and was in the midst of having an even better summer.”

The sophomore guard averaged 15.7 points in his freshman year in Bloomington and turned down a likely chance to play in the NBA. Blackmon will continue playing in a back court that consists of lots of scoring and he is one of those leaders to go along side senior Yogi Ferrell, junior Troy Williams and fellow sophomore Robert Johnson.

Blackmon has bulked up this offseason and is looking to improve his strength and defense before taking the next step to the NBA. He played his freshman season at around 190 pounds, but will be around 200 pounds in his second season.

“His strength has gone up significantly since the season ended,” Crean said. “When he’s not getting on the court, he’s making up for it (with upper body work) in the weight room.”

The 6-foot-4 guard finished eighth in the Big Ten in scoring and broke Indiana's freshman three-point record with 77 surpassing Eric Gordon who had 70. Along with that, he was sixth in the league with 3-point field goals per game.

Coach Tom Crean does not believe this will be a huge set back and shouldn't hold him back long-term.

"He's been having a great summer," Crean said, "and this is a minor blow to his improvement."

The Hoosiers are expecting big things as they are projected to start the season ranked in the top-15 nationally. A season ago, they limped into the NCAA Tournament as a 10-seed and fell in their first game against Wichita State.