THE SIDELINES : Army Forward’s Future Unclear

WEST POINT, N.Y. — A top Army basketball recruit is recovering from surgery to rebuild a tumor-damaged heel, facing doubts about the future of both his sports and military careers.

Derk Schwieger said he underwent surgery in late November at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., to remove the benign tumor in his left heel and to receive bone grafts to rebuild the bone. Doctors said the tumor had consumed 90% of the heel.

Schwieger, who was considered Army’s top 1990 recruit by Coach Tom Miller, did not play a game at West Point this fall. Medical examinations at first categorized the problem as a stress fracture or bone spurs.

The 6-6 forward spent the holidays at home in Dows, Iowa, recovering from the surgery. He said he plans to take courses either at Iowa State or Northern Iowa this spring and would consider reapplying to West Point next autumn.