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At first glance, DeJuan Marrero doesn’t look too banged up.

He can get around at a decent pace, albeit slightÎ_ly slower than the average walking speed. He uses crutches but doesn’t sport a limp, and he doesn’t he have a grimace on his face or pain in his voice.

Marrero, a freshman on the men’s basketball team, has a torn ACL though, and will miss the entire basketball season. The injury happened only two weeks ago, pulling the promise of a strong debut season right out from under Marrero’s feet.

The injury happened in one of the most unexÎ_pected ways possible. Marrero was running in an up-tempo transition drill, went up to catch a pass, and came down with all the weight on his right knee.

“I felt something pop,” Marrero said, “so I knew right then and there it was something bad.”

The 6-foot-5-inch forÎ_ward has spent his days rehabbing his knee up to three times a day, doing stems, squats and bending exercises.

“The little stuff right now, to get it back in motion,” said Marrero.

The Blue Demons are familiar with knee injuries. Just last season, fellow forward Montray Clemons ruptured the patellar tendon in his left knee, also ending his season before it started. Like Marrero, Clemons suffered the ailment in a freakish way – slipping and falling during layups in 2011’s Blue Madness.

“I just thought my knee might have popped out of place,” said Clemons. “I could pop back in. I got back up and walked to the bench like I was fine. But when I sat back down I couldn’t bend my leg.”

Clemons has been working on his comeÎ_back for an entire year. The second-year freshÎ_man said that while the rehab was important, the toughest part was stayÎ_ing mentally tough, findÎ_ing the motivation to get out of bed and make the effort each day to mend his knee.

He was aided not only by DePaul’s medical staff, but also by drawing inspiÎ_ration from pro ballers with related ailments, like Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin.

“If these guys can have similar injuries and come back strong,” said Clemons, “then I can.”

While Clemons is back in action at practice, he still has yet to participate in a full scrimmage, and did not play in Saturday’s exhibition game against Lewis. Head coach Oliver Purnell hopes to have Clemons at full strength for the first game Nov. 15, though. He was missed last year when other players, like Donnavan Kirk and Moses Morgan, missed games due to injury, leaving DePaul’s frontcourt thin.

Since Clemons is close to returning, he has advised Marrero how to return to health.

“There’s going to be days where you don’t feel like working,” said Clemons, “but just stay strong and stay positive. And I told him if you ever need someone to talk to, you know you can talk to me because I just went through the same thing.”

Marrerois awaiting his knee surgery Nov. 27. The operation will be performed by Dr. Brian Cole of Rush University, who not only worked on Clemons, but also repaired Rose’s torn ACL earlier this year.

As for the rest of the season, Marrero will watch the action from the sidelines, taking mental notes while staying close to his teammates.

“By working hard on his rehab and by watchÎ_ing, learning and asking questions,” said Purnell, “and at the same time being a great cheerleader and motivator for the rest of our guys, I think he can have a very positive effect on our program.”

“I’m in good care, in good hands here at DePaul,” said Marrero. “I just have faith all throughout the way, and keep working hard at whatever I do.”