Denton Koon plays defense against Rutgers/TRENTONIAN FILE PHOTO

The Princeton Tigers suffered a major blow Monday, when it was announced via press release that senior forward Denton Koon suffered a knee injury in practice Thursday and will be out until the second half of the season.

Koon was hampered by persistent knee injuries last season, appearing in just 18 games. As a sophomore, however, he started 24 of the Tigers 28 contests, averaging 10.5 points and 3.0 rebounds to earn an Honorable Mention All-Ivy selection.

When healthy, the 6-foot-8 Koon is one of the more versatile players in the league, particularly on the defensive end. Primarily a frontcourt player as a freshman, as a sophomore he started in the backcourt to give the Tigers a starting with four players over 6-7.

At media day Wednesday, coach Mitch Henderson said that Koon was healthy and sounded hopeful that he’d be a major contributor.

“We’ve been fortunate around here to have some really powerful offensive players, and Denton is no different, but I do think that he’s a very difficult matchup and presents a lot of problems for other teams,” Henderson said. “So, we need him to do things. We need him to score and we need him to slash to the rim.”

Without Koon, the Tigers have just one senior on the roster who has seen significant minutes. Guard Ben Hazel averaged 6.1 points in just over 23 minutes per game last season. Neither forward Dan Edwards or center Bobby Garbade have ever averaged more than four minutes per contest.

The first half of Princeton’s season includes nonconference games against UTEP, California and Wake Forest. The Tigers will also play their first Ivy League game before the winter exam break, hosting Penn Jan. 10.