Bueckers’ Knee Injury Overshadows Win
The Story: We’ll be left holding our breath until later today after Paige Bueckers injured her left knee late in the Huskies’ 73-54 win over Notre Dame at Gampel Pavilion yesterday afternoon.
WHAT HAPPENED? Bueckers was taking the ball up the court with less than a minute remaining when she slipped (here’s the video). She managed to take a few more steps toward the bench before collapsing in pain and being helped off the court.
• Geno Auriemma said the team’s medical staff was waiting for some swelling to subside before Bueckers underwent an MRI to determine the extent of the damage. The results of the exam should be known at some point today, but the best-case scenario is a hyperextension.
• If Bueckers merely hyperextended the knee, she’ll likely be out four to six weeks. If she tore the ACL, she’ll be done for the season and her ability to play at the start of next year could be in jeopardy.
• “Nothing twisted, according to the doctor,” Geno said. “It didn’t [twist], which is really, really bad, so hopefully, we’ll know, get some good news tomorrow.”
WHY WAS SHE PLAYING? This is the question we’ve been asking since last season. What possible reason is there for Bueckers to ever be playing in the closing minutes of a game in which the Huskies are up nearly 20 points?
• “She never wants to come out,” Geno said. “She’s a pain in the ass to have on the bench because all she does is complain about why she’s not playing,” he said. “We’ve made a concerted effort in the last three or four games to get her some rest during the game.”
• “I don’t have an answer for why she was in the game. I mean, that could happen anytime. It could happen in practice. It could happen in the game. It can happen anytime. But yeah, I don’t like our team without her on the court. I mean, I might have to like it if she misses any time, but I don’t like the way it looks when she’s not on the floor.”
• Bueckers averaged a school-record 36.2 minutes per game as a freshman. She averaged 35.8 minutes in the Huskies’ first five games of this season and played the whole game against Notre Dame until she was injured.
OUR TAKES: Geno is right: The injury could happen at any time. He also has to understand the chances of it happening are lessened if she’s on the court less often.
• UConn has won its five games this season by an average of 19.2 points per game. It went 28-2 last season, when Bueckers was the national player of the year, and won by 29.2 points per game. Game experience is game experience, but she clearly doesn’t need to be playing that much.
• If Bueckers truly is “a pain in the ass,” well, Geno, you’re the coach. Find a way to relate to her and help her understand why she’s not needed (perhaps by, you know, pointing to the scoreboard). Teach her the game from your point of view. Have her help teach and develop her teammates. Everyone who plays sports wants to play every minute, but not everyone does.
• Evina Westbrook was Tennessee’s point guard for two years. She’s routinely praised for being a smart, astute ballhandler and she runs the offense at times, even when Bueckers is on the court. If Geno doesn’t “like the way it looks when she’s not on the floor,” again, that’s on he and the coaches to help Westbrook and the Huskies run things more efficiently.
• One more point: The Huskies attract the most talented players in the country. Many of them end up leaving because they can’t get on the floor, and they end up playing significant roles elsewhere — and for pretty good teams, too. Playing in Storrs is cutthroat, but it’s not like those who are recruited to join the team can’t cut it. We’d wager the Huskies’ backups could reach the Sweet 16 each year on their own. Much of the talk this season has been about the Huskies’ depth, it’s time for them to put that to the test.
AS FOR THE GAME: The Huskies led fairly consistently by double figures and battled through a turnover-prone first quarter to hold the Fighting Irish at length.
• Bueckers had 22 points, four assists, four rebounds and five steals. Olivia Nelson-Ododa had her first double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and we liked the play of freshman Caroline Ducharme, who had a breakout performance with 14 points in 14 minutes.
• UConn had 21 turnovers, which means it’s averaging 15.2 turnovers per game this season. That’s not terrible, but it could be better. “We have this thing on our board: ‘Play hard. Play smart. Have fun.’ I think when they write the history of UConn women’s basketball, I don’t think this team will be included in that chapter of play smart,” Geno said.
UP NEXT: Aside from the results of Bueckers’ MRI? A game at Georgia Tech on Thursday that will serve as Nelson-Ododa’s senior homecoming.
Injuries Force Hurley to Change Strategy
The Story: The Huskies are 7-1 after an 88-59 win over Grambling State but are without the services of star center Adama Sanogo for at least a couple of weeks because of an abdominal strain.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Sanogo, UConn’s second-leading scorer and No. 1 offensive threat, is out an extended period of time. With the loss of Tyrese Martin, UConn is missing two starters just as the season really gets going with a game at West Virginia on Wednesday. UConn started Akok Akok and Jordan Hawkins in place of Sanogo and Martin and the Huskies are going to look so much different for the next several weeks.
WELCOME TO UPTEMPO BASKETBALL: We want it, you want it, and stubborn Dan Hurley is going to give us what we want — uptempo hoops. The Huskies are not as big and as powerful without Sanogo and Martin, so Hurley wants the Huskies to play fast and with more full-court pressure. That means UConn is going to press full-court and try to run the fastbreak at every opportunity. That is music to our ears because we think having Akok, Andre Jackson and Jalen Gaffney playing full court allows their athleticism to make up for their lack of skill. Why they were playing at a deliberate pace with the depth they have is beyond our comprehension, but expect more ferocious and faster hoops from the Huskies, who are averaging in the high 80s in points anyway.
ON GRAMBLING: What a game from Akok and Hawkins. Akok, who is too talented to have no impact, had 10 points and six rebounds in his start. Hawkins, who has the offensive game of a 20-point-per-game scorer in the pros, scored 15 points. We even saw Rahsool Diggins and Samson Johnson, who each played double-digit minutes. R.J. Cole continues to pace the Huskies with 18 points and seven assists.
BOTTOM LINE: Hurley griped about how playing buy games against inferior competition sucks. We agree. UConn is going to get into the meat of the schedule with WVU, a top-50 team, and a top-30 team in St. Bonaventure. UConn is going to be shorthanded going into those games and maybe even when it opens the Big East schedule against Providence.
Morning Reads
• The volleyball team advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIVC, which is essentially the volleyball NIT, with a come-from-behind victory over Boston College in five games. Caylee Parker had 19 kills for the Huskies, who will host North Florida on Wednesday. (UConnHuskies.com)
• Summer-Rae Dobson had two goals an an assist as the women’s hockey team (14-4-2) completed a weekend sweep of Holy Cross with a 4-1 win on Saturday. The team is now off for winter break and won’t play again until it heads to Vermont on Jan. 7. (UConnHuskies.com)
• The men’s hockey team did not play its scheduled series with Merrimack over the weekend because of COVID-19 protocols. It’s unclear whether UConn’s next game, Thursday against AIC, will be played. (The UConn Blog)
• Rudy Gay scored his 17,000th point in the Jazz’s win over the Cavaliers yesterday. He’s 99th all time in scoring, just ahead of Bob Cousy, and behind Chris Bosh, Chris Webber and Grant Hill. That’s kind of astonishing, isn’t it? (KSL Sports)
