NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- While it might be excessively cliché it is also true that in the nanoseconds after his knee gave out Tim Abromaitis knew something was very wrong.

Taking part in some two-on-two drills during practice last Friday morning, Abromaitis drove the lane and planted to attempt a layup. That was the point at which his right knee buckled and popped, leaving one of the best players in the Big East knowing his season could be over.

Turns out it is as surgery is scheduled for Friday to repair the damage.

"Hopefully my basketball career's not over," Abromaitis said Sunday in his first meeting with the media since the injury. "So that's always in the back of my mind. Past that there's no reason not to get up and live life."

Abromaitis missed the first four games this season because of an NCAA-related suspension. In the two games Abromaitis played, both losses last week at the Progressive CBE Classic in Kansas City, he averaged 14 points and seven rebounds.

Notre Dame moved on with an 84-59 win over Bryant on Sunday but did so only after a period of wondering what life would be like without one of its co-captains and most consistent scorers.

"We had another practice later on in the day (Friday)," point guard Eric Atkins said. "The whole mood was kinda weird because you're not used to seeing that type of thing, somebody go down like that. I would say Friday and a little bit of Saturday was still like, 'Oh my gosh. Tim is down.'

"But coach got us in here on a team meeting and said we can't feel sorry for ourselves that Tim is down. We've still gotta play."

In the previous two seasons Abromaitis blossomed into a main cog in the Irish rotation. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 16.1 points per game in a breakout junior season and followed it up by pitching in 15.4 points per game last season.

Now in his fifth year in the program, Abromaitis had been expected to shoulder even more responsibility given the loss of key players from last year's team.

Instead head coach Mike Brey has addressed other ways Abromaitis can help out.

"He's told me he still wants me playing the same captain's role and being a voice and leader," Abromaitis said. "Trying to keep guys steady in the same way. He's mentioned becoming a little bit more of a coach and maybe being in on their coaches meetings here and there and stuff like that. Just having the same voice and trying to bring energy and stuff like that to the locker room is what I'm focusing on now."

Keeping an eye toward his athletic future is something Abromaitis has only started to think about.

Brey broached the topic of pursuing a sixth year of eligibility but at least from an academic perspective it's unclear what the next move would be. Abromaitis graduated with a degree in finance in May 2010 and received his MBA a year later.

Whether or not Abromaitis wants to pursue something else from an academic perspective might be the first hurdle to jump, not to mention approaching the NCAA.

"I brought it up briefly with him but that's gonna kinda be his decision," Brey said. "I don't know if that's best for him right now but he's gotta come to grips. I don't think he's really challenged academically here anymore. I think that's something. I said, 'Take a couple months and think about it.' And can we really get it, too. What can we get with that?

For his part, Abromaitis hasn't given his future much consideration over the last few days.

"Right now it's just focusing on trying to get it healthy and get it ready for surgery and everything," he said. "The sixth year conversation will definitely come up and if it's a possibility I'll look into it and go from there with coach Brey."