Jon Walker and Tom Shatel, with the Omaha World-Herald, break down Creighton's win over Kansas at the CHI Health Center in Omaha on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024.
Fresh off a 27-point performance in an upset of No. 1 Kansas, Creighton guard Pop Isaacs is expected to undergo season-ending surgery to repair a lingering hip injury, a source told The World-Herald on Friday.
Jays coach Greg McDermott confirmed the news Saturday morning.
Isaacs, who transferred in from Texas Tech this offseason, averaged 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists in his first eight games with the Bluejays after missing the season opener with the hip injury he's played through since.
The decision, source said, is strictly about Isaacs' long-term health.
He remains committed to McDermott, who recruited him out of high school and again out of the transfer portal in the spring, and wants to return to the program for what's expected to be two more years of eligibility for the junior.
But if he's going to play at Creighton, he wants to do it healthy, a source said.
To be granted a medical redshirt, per NCAA rules, a student-athlete must have a season-ending injury that occurs before the halfway point in the season and play in fewer than 30% of the season's games.
Isaacs checks all three of those boxes.
The injury goes back to Isaacs' time at Texas Tech -- before then, even. Prior to his freshman season in Lubbock, he had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip, an operation he previously said did wonders for him. Last season, he played through another torn labrum, on the opposite hip, and averaged 15.8 points per game en route to being an All-Big 12 selection.
Isaacs had surgery to repair it after Tech's season ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Shortly after, while still on crutches, he committed to Creighton.
Moving forward, the Bluejays will be without their second-leading scorer -- 16.3 points per game -- and one of their best 3-point shooters. Isaacs was 41% from the field, and 38.3% from beyond the arc was the improved efficiency he and McDermott hoped for in CU's system.
After scoring a combined 29 points in his first three games, Isaacs scored 25-plus in three of the next five.
The only game he didn't reach double figures in that stretch was the win over Notre Dame, when he scored 6 points and played 26 minutes while battling the flu.
Creighton hosts UNLV at 3 p.m. Saturday at the CHI Health Center.
Photos: Creighton men's basketball hosts Kansas