Archie Miller: Cunningham intends to play this season

Sophomore forward ahead of schedule in rehab of injured ankle
Dayton players, including Josh Cunningham, far left, cheer during a game against Saint Louis on Jan. 22, 2017, at UD Arena.

Credit: David Jablonski - Staff Writer

Credit: David Jablonski - Staff Writer

Dayton players, including Josh Cunningham, far left, cheer during a game against Saint Louis on Jan. 22, 2017, at UD Arena.

Dayton Flyers sophomore forward Josh Cunningham continues to make progress in his rehabilitation. After a 67-46 victory over Saint Louis on Sunday at UD Arena, coach Archie Miller said Cunningham intends to play again this season.

Cunningham hasn't played since tearing a ligament in his ankle in the second game of the season Nov. 15 at Alabama. This is his first season on the court with the Flyers. He sat out last season after transferring from Bradley.

"Josh has done an excellent job with his rehabilitation," Miller said. "I could see him starting to do some on-court work. Conditioning is the biggest thing, being out as long as he has. His ankle is great. His body is good. He’s taken care of himself. His deal will be confidence getting back, but as the end of January approaches, he’s ahead of schedule in terms of just getting his body back on the floor and moving around. I don’t know what that means for contact or practice or games, but the fact that at the end of January he'll able to get on the court and maybe do some shooting and cutting, that's a good sign."

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The original timetable called for Cunningham to miss three months, which meant he could return for the final five games of the regular season.

"If Josh is available to play at some point this season and for us to use him, he would have to be really looking good and being able to practice full go," Miller said. "We would never put him out there if he was 75 or 80 percent. Josh’s mentality is he will play again this season. I think that’s why his rehab is going well."

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

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