Pitino: Joey King has a fractured foot; could end his career

Joey King has a fractured right foot, possibly ending his collegiate career, Minnesota coach Richard Pitino confirmed on Friday.

"He's definitely out for Rutgers, and highly doubtful for the Big Ten tournament," Pitino said on a conference call.

The senior forward injured the foot near the end of Wednesday's 62-49 loss to Wisconsin at Williams Arena, a couple hours after he was honored pregame for Senior Night. He played for a few minutes after the injury happened -- which seemed to be non-contact -- before he was taken out with just over a minute remaining to a standing ovation.

King, who was overcome with emotion after the game on Wednesday, averaged 11.6 points and 3.8 rebounds and shot 40.1 percent from three-point range. His .886 percentage from the free-throw line ranks first in the conference, 10th nationally and second in Minnesota's all-time records for a single season, behind former teammate Andre Hollins (.904).

The bad news for King comes at the end of a tumultuous season that has seen five players forced off the court for one reason or another since Feb. 17. Minnesota has just five scholarship players available for Saturday's game at Rutgers, the last regular-season matchup. The Gophers head to Indianapolis for the Big Ten tournament next week.

"We did the most we could with the hand we were dealt," King said on Wednesday. "Obviously in my situation it was the wrong time to have all this go down, but that's life and you move on. We're just going to do everything we can to take care of Rutgers at the end of the week and we'll go from there."