After Lost Season and Three Surgeries in Five Months, Iona’s Schadrac Casimir Ready to Return

NEW ROCHELLE, N.J. — When Iona beat Monmouth last March in the MAAC championship game to gain an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, Schadrac Casimir watched from his room at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

“I was rooting for my team,” Casimir said recently in the Iona gym. “I was watching the game, I love the game, I’m a fan of the game, so I had no problem watching. I was upset I couldn’t play.”

The 5-foot-10 Casimir couldn’t play for most of last season as he underwent three surgeries on his hips and groin in a five-month span.

Now, with Iona set to open the 2016-17 season Tuesday at Florida State, Casimir will make his return to the court, hoping to lead the Gaels to another NCAA Tournament berth next March.

“Schad is back and ready to go for the opener,” Iona associate head coach Jared Grasso said. “He has made great strides the past couple of weeks.”