Achonwa (merged)

[nutmegger]

ACL tear according to ND board. Out 6-9 months.

 

[Bayareahusky]

Oh that is a shame..... sincerely,...... I am over the top UC fan, and dislike ND like the rest of us, but nobody deserves this..... Good Luck, Natalie.

 

[BooRadley]

I really enjoyed rooting against her, now I find myself rooting for her. ACL tears... terrible... just terrible...

YOPB

 

[Drumguy]

ACL tear according to ND board. Out 6-9 months.

That's the conclusion I came to last night after I watched the replay a bunch of times and it looked like she hyperextended the knee and you could tell she popped the ACL or tore something.

The cameraman ended up right in the middle of the ND team surrounding her and you could hear their conversation. When she fell to the floor her teammates were telling her to "Get up, you're ok". She replied "I'm not ok". Had that ACL look to her walk at the end. Tough way to end her career and maybe dashing their hopes of beating LV/MD, never mind us.

Sales and Ralph were injuries I can think of that derailed our teams in the postseason.

 

[huskeynut]

Best to Natalie and a speedy and successful recovery.

 

[Joobie]

No matter the circumstances it SUX when a player goes down...especially with an ACL injury. Best of luck with the surgery & rehab, Natalie. We will be rooting for you!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

As Muffet noted last night, she can be an inspiration to her team and the power of that should not be dismissed lightly. The knee buckled laterally. Not much give there. The best to Natalie for a smooth rehab and total recovery.

ND official WB site report. http://www.und.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/040114aaa.html

The ESPN report on this continues to perpetuate the erroneous report that a Baylor player struck her from behind as if it was a contributor to the injury. http://espn.go.com/womens-college-b...otre-dame-fighting-irish-rest-ncaa-tournament

 

[UConnCat]

As Muffet noted last night, she can be an inspiration to her team and the power of that should not be dismissed lightly. The knee buckled laterally. Not much give there. The best to Natalie for a smooth rehab and total recovery.

Loyd is more than capable of carrying the team as we saw last night. McBride is also capable, though lately she's had the look of trying too hard. I bet ND handles it better than UConn handled Shea going down early in the tournament in 1997.

 

[doggydaddy]

Wow. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this injury. Awful for Achonwa. It also impacts her WNBA career possibilities. Wishing her a full recovery and every opportunity to keep playing ball. She is the player you hate on the other team but love on your team.

So, how does this impact the team with the best bench in WCBB?

Prior to the injury they played an 8 player rotation. 6'3" Reimer off the bench as the first big, 5'10" Mabrey the first guard off the bench and then either 5'11" Cable or 6'2" Wright as the other "big".

Achonwa is only 6'3" but she has real long arms, is incredibly smart about positioning and knows how to use her arms and butt to move players so she can grab the ball. Her offensive rebounding and ability to score in the paint is something the bench players can't duplicate. From everything Muffet says, Achonwa is the point guard in the paint. She called the defenses on the court and similar to Dolson sees the entire court and makes terrific passes. Again, this can not be replaced.

Without Achonwa, ND will have to move Reimer to the starting lineup. She is the only remaining height in the rotation. That means that the bench is now Mabrey, Cable and Wright.

On paper, Reimer can contribute in Achonwa's absence. She can score a little in the paint and is a good rebounder. Her issues are her youth and inexperience. In the Sweet Sixteen game, I believe she fouled out in 6 minutes. And in the Baylor game she had 4 fouls in 20 minutes. If she gets in foul trouble, ND has to go either small or smaller. Braker becomes their 6'1 center, McBride is the 5'11" PF, Loyd is the 5'10" wing, Mabrey is the 5'10" SG and Allen is the 5'7" PG.

Minutes will also be an issue. The big three regularly played 35+ minutes in close games as did Allen, Braker struggles to play more than 25 minutes. Reimer is a foul waiting to happen. The bench is not used to big minutes either. It will be interesting to see how McGraw handles this.

This team can still score. Any team with McBride and Loyd will score, but they will be so much easier to defend. But their main issue will be defense. Maryland's size will come into play against ND if they get by Louisville. And Louisville's physicality will cause trouble for ND.

Defense is where ND will really be hurting without Achonwa. She is the only shot blocker on the team, the best post defender and calls all the defensive plays.

This is devastating for ND. But with McBride and Loyd, they will still be very dangerous and I wouldn't be surprised if they were in the championship game. But remember, they only have less than a week to adjust.

 

[CTGirl15]

Just awful, you hate for anyone to get injured, but it's so much worse for a senior. Best of luck Natalie, hoping for a speedy recovery!

 

[Wbbfan1]

Agree: Kayla and Loyd can easily put up 30 points each in a game and get the other teams guards into foul trouble. ND will still be a tough out, but getting into the Championship game will be tougher for them especially if they have to play Louisville. Louisville IMHO has more weapons then Maryland does.

Wow. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this injury. Awful for Achonwa. It also impacts her WNBA career possibilities. Wishing her a full recovery and every opportunity to keep playing ball. She is the player you hate on the other team but love on your team.

So, how does this impact the team with the best bench in WCBB?

Prior to the injury they played an 8 player rotation. 6'3" Reimer off the bench as the first big, 5'10" Mabrey the first guard off the bench and then either 5'11" Cable or 6'2" Wright as the other "big".

Achonwa is only 6'3" but she has real long arms, is incredibly smart about positioning and knows how to use her arms and butt to move players so she can grab the ball. Her offensive rebounding and ability to score in the paint is something the bench players can't duplicate. From everything Muffet says, Achonwa is the point guard in the paint. She called the defenses on the court and similar to Dolson sees the entire court and makes terrific passes. Again, this can not be replaced.

Without Achonwa, ND will have to move Reimer to the starting lineup. She is the only remaining height in the rotation. That means that the bench is now Mabrey, Cable and Wright.

On paper, Reimer can contribute in Achonwa's absence. She can score a little in the paint and is a good rebounder. Her issues are her youth and inexperience. In the Sweet Sixteen game, I believe she fouled out in 6 minutes. And in the Baylor game she had 4 fouls in 20 minutes. If she gets in foul trouble, ND has to go either small or smaller. Braker becomes their 6'1 center, McBride is the 5'11" PF, Loyd is the 5'10" wing, Mabrey is the 5'10" SG and Allen is the 5'7" PG.

Minutes will also be an issue. The big three regularly played 35+ minutes in close games as did Allen, Braker struggles to play more than 25 minutes. Reimer is a foul waiting to happen. The bench is not used to big minutes either. It will be interesting to see how McGraw handles this.

This team can still score. Any team with McBride and Loyd will score, but they will be so much easier to defend. But their main issue will be defense. Maryland's size will come into play against ND if they get by Louisville. And Louisville's physicality will cause trouble for ND.

Defense is where ND will really be hurting without Achonwa. She is the only shot blocker on the team, the best post defender and calls all the defensive plays.

This is devastating for ND. But with McBride and Loyd, they will still be very dangerous and I wouldn't be surprised if they were in the championship game. But remember, they only have less than a week to adjust.

 

[easttexastrash]

It eliminates them from competing for a national championship.

 

[UConnCat]

The lineup may depend on the opponent in the semis. If, as I expect, it's Louisville, Muffet may choose to go small, start Cable and continue to bring Reimer off the bench to replace Braker. Muffet has played a 4 guard offense for years and I think it might work better against Louisville. Maryland presents much different challenges with its big front line.

 

[doggydaddy]

It eliminates them from competing for a national championship.

No doubt. But the next game is in the semi's and they still could get to the final.

 

[BRS24]

Has ND ever had to do a short term prep for an injury like this, either in regular season or tourney? If this was the sweet 16 or semis game, I would think that it would be tougher with a 48 hr turnaround. But, even with 5-6 days, it still changes everything for the team, especially if she's the cog they mentioned, similar to Stef

 

[doggydaddy]

The lineup may depend on the opponent in the semis. If, as I expect, it's Louisville, Muffet may choose to go small, start Cable and continue to bring Reimer off the bench to replace Braker. Muffet has played a 4 guard offense for years and I think it might work better against Louisville. Maryland presents much tougher challenges with its big front line.

Totally agree. But that is an awfully small team.

 

[bruinbball]

I said last night that Reimer hasn't show signs of why she was so highly touted coming out of high school (although I thought she was overrated - a good player but still overrated) and that she would get to show her skills next year. That timeline has obviously been bumped up. It is obviously not a good thing that happened and it sucks for Natalie. But, in all reality better it happened last night than during the Final Four game. Notre Dame has a week to adjust their game plans for next week.

Last night I also said that I wanted Achonwa healthy because I do not want any player to be injured and because I do NOT want this potential game to be a game of 'what-ifs'.

 

[ndmb]

It eliminates them from competing for a national championship.

No, it simply does not. This is still a team with two first team All Americans who are the best scoring guard duo that I've seen on a college team in several years. In the case of UConn, they need to put a couple of bodies on Stefanie sometimes, which hurts because UConn is a fantastic passing and shooting team, but if Loyd and McBride defend Bria and Kaleena well AND Stewie has an off-night, Notre Dame can make up for it with their scoring ability.

 

[jsloanjr]

How sad......NA is a Double Double machine for ND.....They have 5 days to prepare.....Best wishes!!!

 

[UcMiami]

All women's teams know this heartbreak much to well. Really tough luck especially after such a fantastic year and so close to the finish line. I don't like ND and I don't even enjoy watching them play, but her transformation over her college years was great and she was playing really really well - Loyd and McBride get all the publicity, but her presence on the court and her skill has allowed them to have the years they have had.
Best wishes to her and I still think ND can be a force at the FF if they can get their heads straight this week. Willis Reed, anybody?!

 

[UConnCat]

I said last night that Reimer hasn't show signs of why she was so highly touted coming out of high school (although I thought she was overrated - a good player but still overrated) and that she would get to show her skills next year. That timeline has obviously been bumped up. It is obviously not a good thing that happened and it sucks for Natalie. But, in all reality better it happened last night than during the Final Four game. Notre Dame has a week to adjust their game plans for next week.

Last night I also said that I wanted Achonwa healthy because I do not want any player to be injured and because I do NOT want this potential game to be a game of 'what-ifs'.

Reimer seems a step or two slow to me and a little shaky with the ball. Having watched both she and Mavunga play this year I can see why some thought Mavunga was the better player, though I can also understand why ND and UConn recruited Reimer and not Mavunga.

 

[Sakibomb25]

No, it simply does not. This is still a team with two first team All Americans who are the best scoring guard duo that I've seen on a college team in several years. In the case of UConn, they need to put a couple of bodies on Stefanie sometimes, which hurts because UConn is a fantastic passing and shooting team, but if Loyd and McBride defend Bria and Kaleena well AND Stewie has an off-night, Notre Dame can make up for it with their scoring ability.

No way. Achonwa was their leader in the post and you can't replace that with Reimer - she's too young at this point. They have no post presence in the paint. Reimer could get into foul trouble and then they'd really be toast.

There's no way Notre Dame can compete with UConn now. Dang, I was really looking forward to this match-up as well.

 

[UcMiami]

Loyd is more than capable of carrying the team as we saw last night. McBride is also capable, though lately she's had the look of trying too hard. I bet ND handles it better than UConn handled Shea going down early in the tournament in 1997.

It is easier said than done - this is a highly emotional time for the players and the coach and it is very tricky to channel that emotion just right.

 

[pap49cba]

Hate this stuff. Best wishes to her for a successful recovery.

 

[ndmb]

No way. Achonwa was their leader in the post and you can't replace that with Reimer - she's too young at this point. They have no post presence in the paint. Reimer could get into foul trouble and then they'd really be toast.

There's no way Notre Dame can compete with UConn now. Dang, I was really looking forward to this match-up as well.

Really?

They really don't have any strong post players, but have a fantastic guard tandem, a lot of chemistry, and are hoping for some luck. That doesn't sound familiar to another team that defied expectations?