VIDEO: UH's Amis has injured foot

Senior forward Bill Amis is out "indefinitely" with a torn plantar fascia in his right foot.

He suffered the injury in the first half of the Rainbow Warriors' 83-69 exhibition victory over Brigham Young-Hawai'i on Thursday. The plantar fascia is a tendon in the bottom of the foot and Amis said "there's a 100 percent tear" in his.

He was on crutches yesterday, his right foot covered with a protective boot.

"Right now, it's indefinitely," Amis said. "I want to try and get back as soon as possible."

Amis, who is 6 feet 9 and 220 pounds, has been in UH's starting lineup since his sophomore season. Last season, he led the team in rebounding with 6.5 per game, and was second in scoring with 10.7 per game.

He is regarded as the 'Bows' vocal leader and most consistent post player. In two exhibition games this season, he had 31 points on 14-of-18 shooting, and 16 rebounds. He played just 11 minutes before suffering the injury against BYUH.

"Obviously, it's a big blow," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "It's a big setback losing a guy who was a starter for us the last two years, but he will heal and he will try to come back."

The big question is when?

The 'Bows open their regular season on Friday against Southern Utah in the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic. Hawai'i will have five games in November, and Amis is expected to miss all those games.

"There's not a lot of literature out on basketball players having this type of injury," Nash said. "We'll have to evaluate the situation as it goes along."

If the injury lingers, Amis does have a redshirt season available, although he said that option has not been discussed yet.

"I haven't talked to the coaches and my parents about anything like that yet," he said. "I just want to get back healthy as soon as possible, that's all I'm worried about right now."

Nash said: "We don't want to make any rash judgments. We'll see how his foot heals in the next week or two and see what the doctors say then."

Paul Campbell, a 6-10 senior, is the leading candidate to take Amis' spot in the starting lineup. He replaced Amis in the BYUH exhibition game and finished with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, and eight rebounds.

"I know it's a big loss, losing Bill, but we're a resilient team," Campbell said. "We've been going through injuries all preseason. We have a lot of seniors so we know we just have to step up and play together."

Three other key players — forwards Roderick Flemings and Brandon Adams, and guard Dwain Williams — sat out the BYUH exhibition.

Flemings and Williams were able to complete a full practice yesterday, and Adams did a light workout on his own. Nash expects all three to be ready for the season opener on Friday.

"We feel for Bill, but at the same time, we have a challenging season ahead," Nash said. "We have to go out there with what we have. When one guy goes down, teammates need to pick up the slack."