It's full speed ahead for Creighton forward Justin Carter.

The 6-foot-4 senior participated in practice Monday for the first time since injuring his knee Nov. 8 in an exhibition game against UNO. Afterward, Carter said he plans to play this week in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla.

“I'll definitely play in Florida,'' Carter said. “I don't know if I'll start or not, but I just want to play and make my team better. I want to do the things we need me to do.''

Creighton opens the tournament Thursday with a 11:05 a.m. game against No. 15 Michigan at Disney's Milk House. The Bluejays will play either Marquette or Xavier on Friday, and will play a third game Sunday against either Alabama, Iona, Florida State or Baylor.

Carter has missed Creighton's first three games after suffering a small tear in the medial collateral ligament in his right knee. He returned to the court last Friday, doing individual work with trainers. Monday, he joined his teammates and went through the entire two-hour workout.

“I haven't been live in awhile so it's a little sore right now,'' Carter said. “But I'm happy with how I did and how I trusted it as much as I did. I didn't feel that way two days ago but I think I pushed myself and it responded well.''

Carter was expected to be one of the constants in Creighton's lineup this season after leading the Bluejays in rebounding (5.5) while averaging 8.1 points per game. With Carter sidelined, junior-college transfer Darryl Ashford started the Bluejays' first three games.

Creighton coach Dana Altman said he was encouraged by what he saw from Carter in practice Monday, but wants to see how the player's knee responds in the next day or two.

“We'll have to see how it feels tomorrow — that's going to be really important,'' Altman said. “We'll practice Wednesday down there, and we'll see how it feels after that.

“I thought at first today he was a little tentative but he seemed to get more confident as practice went along. I'd say he did pretty well considering this was the first day out after two weeks.''

Carter's return would put Creighton at full strength for the first time this season. Forwards Casey Harriman and Chad Millard returned to action Sunday in the Bluejays' 80-65 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock.

Harriman, who had missed two weeks with complications from the H1N1 flu, played eight minutes against the Trojans. Millard played five minutes after being out for almost seven weeks with a foot injury.

With 13 scholarship players available, Altman finds himself with plenty of options heading into the Orlando tournament.

“We've got 13 guys but we don't have 13 guys that have practiced and are ready to go,'' Altman said. “We do have 13 guys that we can throw out there. We're a long way from getting rotations or anything like that.

“We're just going to go play. Hopefully, guys will play hard when they get the opportunity. ”

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

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