Indiana's James Blackmon to have knee surgery today, possibly miss remainder of season

Huge news out of Bloomington this afternoon: Indiana's James Blackmon will miss an unknown amount of time after having knee surgery today.

After thorough testing and evaluation, it has been determined that the best solution for James Blackmon Jr., and his immediate and long-term health, is to undergo surgery on his right knee this afternoon that he injured last week in practice. A final determination of his status could be known as early as later today.

While there's no timeframe listed on Blackmon's absence or any information in regard to the type of injury suffered, it could be reasonably deduced from the tenor of Crean's comments that the Marion, Indiana sophomore won't return this season. It would be a quick turnaround for Blackmon to return to the floor in 2016 -- with only roughly 8 weeks until the NCAA tournament gets underway. The full release from Indiana is listed below:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - After thorough testing and evaluation, it has been determined that the best solution for James Blackmon Jr., and his immediate and long-term health, is to undergo surgery on his right knee this afternoon that he injured last week in practice. He is second on the Hoosiers in scoring (15.8), which also ranks 10th in the Big Ten.  He is third in the league in 3-point field goals made per game (2.8) and seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (46.3).  In his two seasons with the Hoosiers, IU is 21-0 anytime he shoots 47.0 percent or higher from the field. A final determination of his status could be known as early as later today.

"This is a very tough outcome for our Indiana team, but most importantly for James," said IU Coach Tom Crean. "He is establishing himself as one of the most elite guards in the country this season. I feel terrible for him and he has a tough road ahead of him but it is one he has been down before and we fully believe that this process will lead him to have an incredible future in the game at Indiana and well beyond.  We look forward to helping him with his full recovery and I know he appreciates everyones thoughts, prayers and concerns."

He had surgery this past summer on his left knee that kept him out of some summer workouts and had fully recovered.

It's undoubtedly a blow for Indiana, but it's one Tom Crean might be equipped to mitigate with a change of style.

UPDATE (4:25 PM): Indiana has amended their initial release indicating that the prevailing belief is that James Blackmon Jr. will not play again this season.