Huskies lose Paradise

Chronic injuries to his wrist, knee, shoulder and Achilles' tendon -- not to mention the broken nose he suffered in November -- finally forced Ryan Paradise's will to give out.

Northern Illinois' fifth-year senior guard, a 2003 graduate of Naperville Central, announced Friday that he's calling it a career.

"I hurt physically and am just no longer able to put my body through the pain to continue to play the game I love," Paradise wrote on his blog at www.niuhuskies.com.

Northern Illinois' most experienced player averaged 6.7 points in a 70-game career that was repeatedly interrupted by medical issues.

The most serious was a left wrist injury that led to a perilous infection when Paradise's body reacted adversely to the surgery and medications.

He recovered to start 20 games of his junior year and the first six games this season -- he remains the team's lone double-figure scorer at 10.7 points per game -- but he broke his nose against Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 24.

Paradise received his degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences in December.

"I'm not sure what the next step is from here," he wrote, "but it's time to start looking for a new challenge."