Ratliff eligible, but injures ankle

A.J. Ratliff is eligible to play this semester, but he is not expected to be on the court Saturday after injuring his ankle, IU men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson said Thursday during his weekly press conference.\nRatliff, a senior guard, was declared academically ineligible in August for the first semester this season. On Tuesday, Ratliff sprained his ankle in practice, Sampson said.\n“A.J. (Ratliff) came down on the inside of his right ankle and that thing went up like a lemon,” Sampson said in a press release transcript of the news conference on the athletics department Web site.\n“I don't think that he will play Saturday. The good news is his grades did get turned in."\nNo. 13 IU (9-1) will face Coppin State (3-8) at noon Saturday at Assembly Hall.\nRatliff, a former Indiana Mr. Basketball, only missed two games last season and averaged 9.3 points per game. He started in 12 of the 32 games last season.\nHis most memorable performance last season came against then-No.2 Wisconsin when he scored 20 points in the 71-66 upset victory on Jan 31 at Assembly Hall.\nAt IU, Ratliff has averaged 6.3 points per game, shooting 39.2 percent from beyond the arc.\nRatliff joined six other teammates who had grade-point averages above 3.0. The team’s collective GPA is 2.89, Sampson said.\nBesides Ratliff, IU will also be without sophomore guard Armon Bassett and freshman center Eli Holman. \nBassett is serving the last game in a three-game suspension for violating team rules.\nHolman injured ligaments in his wrist during a practice last week, and Sampson is unsure whether it will require season-ending surgery.\nCheck idsnews.com on Saturday for updates following IU’s game verses Coppin State.