Foot to keep White out 6 to 8 weeks

Sophomore forward D.J. White doesn't know how he injured his left foot, but he knows how long it will keep him out -- at least six weeks.\nMonday's MRI revealed that White broke his left foot during last Friday's 93-65 win over St. Joseph's College (Ind.). White said although he doesn't remember how or when the injury occurred, he has to deal with it regardless.\n"I was kind of surprised (to find out it was broken)," he said. "On the court (Friday), I knew something was wrong with it. There was so much pain and discomfort ... But I have no clue how it happened."\nInitial projections gave the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year at least six weeks to heal, which would bring White back by mid-December. But IU head coach Mike Davis said the last thing he wants to do is rush the recovery process.\n"If we can get him back by the Ball State game or the Butler game (Dec. 23), that would be great for us," Davis said. "That would give him two games under his belt (before the Big Ten schedule) ... But even if it is Jan. 5 or 6, we're not going to rush it because he's too valuable to rush."\nNot all the news on the injury front Tuesday was bad, though. Sophomore guard A.J. Ratliff shot around at practice, and even participated in some one-on-one drills as the afternoon concluded. Sporting a protective cast on his right hand, Ratliff still seemed to have his shooter's touch -- draining seven straight threes during one stretch of his shootaround. \nDavis said Ratliff should be back in time for the Nov. 21 game against Florida A&M University. That would give the sophomore two games to prepare before IU welcomes No. 1 Duke to Assembly Hall Nov. 30.\nStarting the season without Ratliff and White, the Hoosiers will be missing an average of 19.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Both sophomores were expected to be major contributors on both sides of the ball, but Davis said depth has been a team strength since day one.\n"I thought we were probably deeper than any team in our conference," he said. "But we had depth. If we lose anybody else there's no depth anymore."\nThough Davis refused to acknowledge any silver lining to the recent downpour of bad news, White provided the only positive spin on the injury.\n"If I'm going to be out, it's good to be out now," he said. "I'm going to miss a couple big games, maybe, but I've got the Big Ten and maybe the NCAA Tournament to look forward to"