Injured forward Morgan Grim should be back working with the team by the time it reaches the Mountain West Conference tournament next month, coach Jim Boylen said, presuming his recovery from a broken foot that required surgery continues progressing well.

Boylen said the 6-foot-8 sophomore met with a doctor for a check-up Monday, nearly four weeks after his surgery.

"We'll see how it goes, but I'd like to have him back," Boylen said. "I'd like him to be able to practice. You know, it's one thing not to have him in games, but it's another thing not to be in practice where you develop and grow."

Though Grim has traveled with the team and attended games, he has neither practiced nor played since suffering his injury in practice. He hadn't played all that much before he was hurt, averaging less than one point and one rebound in not quite six minutes per game, but has missed all of that development time that Boylen said is so crucial.

"That's what I've always said about this level, compared to the pros," he said. "You have 150 practices here and you play 30 games. In those 150 practices, you have to get better. Where in the pros, it's kind of flipped. You play basically 100 games and you don't practice as much. So Morgan Grim, missing his practice time is huge. We've seen what it has done to Kim Tillie, as much as he's improved and grown. But he's missed a ton of practice time in his two, three years here. Practice is important."