When Trevor Noonan transferred from the Air Force Academy to the University of Denver after the 2008-09 season, he knew he would be giving up basketball for a year while establishing eligibility.
But halfway through this season, the 6-foot-9 sophomore didn’t think he’d still be watching most of the time. At the start of the season, a stomach disorder sapped his strength, keeping him on the bench for five of 17 games and limiting his playing time to 204 minutes. Noonan’s sister, Quincey, has played 472 minutes for the DU women’s team.
“I got a bug. I really don’t know what happened, but I didn’t feel right,” Trevor Noonan said. “I lost a bunch of weight. I’m working through it, and I think I’m finally back.”
His performance in last Saturday’s 67-57 win at Louisiana-Monroe could indicate that Noonan is ready for more playing time. His next chance is today when DU (8-9, 4-0 Sun Belt) seeks its seventh straight win, hosting Florida International.
“He got three rebounds, three assists, made three shots and had no turnovers,” coach Joe Scott said of a six-minute boost by Noonan.
But Scott isn’t quite ready to think that Noonan, who played at Legacy High in Broomfield, is ready to pile up a lot of minutes.
“I don’t want to rush it,” Scott said. “He doesn’t have to come in and turn the game on fire. We need him to play good defense, take charges, rebound and take care of the ball and he’ll be successful.”
Scott has his measure on when Noonan could become more of a factor.
“Practicing well and putting some more weight back on are the keys,” Scott said. “It’s Jan. 15 and he’s helping us, but we really want him to be helping us Feb. 15.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
