Gaels guard Paul McCoy injured his knee in practice earlier this month and may miss the entire 2011-12 season.
The 5'11" redshirt junior sat out last season after spending two seasons at Southern Methodist University in Conference USA.
As a freshman with the Mustangs in 2008-2009, McCoy averaged a team-high 13.4 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists.
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McCoy missed the final month of his sophomore season after suffering a season-ending knee injury to the same knee that may sideline him the duration of this season.
Coach Randy Bennett was counting on McCoy to provide the Gaels depth in the backcourt after losing WCC Player of the Year Mickey McConnell to graduation.
The Gaels will now lean heavily on Matthew Dellavedova and Stephen Holt.
Dellavedova averaged 13.4 points and 5.3 assists per game as a sophomore last season and was an All-WCC selection. He spent this past summer helping Australia earn an automatic bid for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
NCAA
Holt averaged 6 points and 3 rebounds as a freshman last season, and led the WCC with 1.8 steals per game despite averaging just 22 minutes a contest. His 61 steals were good for the second-highest single season total in Saint Mary's history.
Saint Mary's opens the regular season Friday November 11 at home against Fresno Pacific.
The Gaels shared the WCC regular season championship last season with Gonzaga, and CSNBayArea.com will be covering the team all season as they look to defend their title.