GU basketball freshman Jacob Larsen out for season with knee injury

Gonzaga announced Friday that freshman center Jacob Larsen suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice.

Larsen, one of five members of Gonzaga’s recruiting class that was ranked in the top 20 by several scouting services, was slowed by knee injuries earlier in his career but his latest injury is apparently unrelated.

The 6-foot-11 native of Denmark was thought to be a redshirt candidate considering GU’s frontcourt includes Przemek Karnowski, Ryan Edwards, Johnathan Williams and Zach Collins. Larsen will probably miss out on the opportunity to practice and train with the team during the upcoming season, depending on the length of his recovery.

Larsen helped Denmark win the 2013 FIBA U16 Division B European Championship. He earned MVP honors by averaging 20 points and 12.1 rebounds. He led all tournament players with a 67.4 shooting percentage. Larsen had 24 points and 16 rebounds in the championship game. He was named the U16 Division B’s best player and best center by Eurobasket.com.

Larsen was selected to play in the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders at All-Star Weekend last Februrary. He also played in the 2015 Adidas Next Generation tournament, posting three-game averages of 16.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Larsen cited Gonzaga’s past success with developing European recruits when he signed last November.

“It was definitely a plus,” said Larsen, who picked GU over Marquette and Maryland. “Both on the basketball court, knowing that the coach has trained and developed Europeans like myself, but also knowing that they have experience with European players as they can be different culture-wise.”