ESPN segment on Paige’s injury and NIL
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They utter the most frightening question after Paige suffers her third significant injury...will Paige Bueckers ever be the same again?
Plainly Paige has always been sleight of frame, that's simply a fact. In high school, it didn't matter and in her Freshman year, her speed and ability to avoid contact allowed her to dominate her sport as no other Freshman ever had.
But, after establishing herself as the best player in women's college basketball, she became a target for more physical defenses.
Although her knee injury appeared to have been a "noncontact" injury, we can't be certain of that.
She recognized at the end of last season that she needed to bulk up and decided to stay in Storrs this Summer for that specific purpose.
While this ACL injury is heartbreaking given her passion for and commitment for her game, I just can't see Paige not fully committing herself to doing everything possible to not just recover but to take the next year to gain the muscle and weight to be able to take on the physical defenses which will pursue her through out her career because that is just who she is!
I know we all will be supporting her and will be eager to welcome her back even stronger next year...
Plainly Paige has always been sleight of frame, that's simply a fact. In high school, it didn't matter and in her Freshman year, her speed and ability to avoid contact allowed her to dominate her sport as no other Freshman ever had.
But, after establishing herself as the best player in women's college basketball, she became a target for more physical defenses.
Although her knee injury appeared to have been a "noncontact" injury, we can't be certain of that.
She recognized at the end of last season that she needed to bulk up and decided to stay in Storrs this Summer for that specific purpose.
While this ACL injury is heartbreaking given her passion for and commitment for her game, I just can't see Paige not fully committing herself to doing everything possible to not just recover but to take the next year to gain the muscle and weight to be able to take on the physical defenses which will pursue her through out her career because that is just who she is!
I know we all will be supporting her and will be eager to welcome her back even stronger next year...
Bald Husky
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Men, Women come back from ACL injuries all the time. There are a lot of them out there, but unless they are a high-profile player, or play for a high-profile team, we do not hear about it. In this ESPN segment they mistakenly refer to her injury as a second ACL tear, as we all know it is not. Sue tore hers in her freshman year and didn't have another significant injury until late in her pro career. Shea, not so lucky. It can go either way, but she has a lot of support, and more basketball is still 13 months away. She must take it easy, listen to the doctors and trainers, work in the weight room, anything that does not have anything to do with her leg. Specifically, I have no clue obviously.
Paige, you have a long life ahead of you, career playing, many commitments for the future, just do what you are told for your own sake. We and the team will go on regardless, so relax and get healthy with all our best to you.
Paige, you have a long life ahead of you, career playing, many commitments for the future, just do what you are told for your own sake. We and the team will go on regardless, so relax and get healthy with all our best to you.
oldude
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Correct. During last year’s surgery to repair a tibial plateau fracture, the surgeon also repaired a tear to Paige’s lateral meniscus. The meniscus and the ACL are two different things, although both surgeries were associated with Paige’s left knee.
Aluminny69
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What we don't hear about are all the career ending injuries to potentially great athletes. One injury can be enough to erase your competitive edge. If you looked at the numbers, starting with high school, I think you would find that "long" careers are the exception rather than the rule.
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I wonder if two successive injuries to the same leg has something to do with Paige's game. Could she change something she's doing to minimize future injuries?
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MilfordHusky
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I'm hopeful that Paige will recover as well as Sue Bird and Gabby Williams have.
oldude
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Difficult to say. ACL tears can be progressive in nature. A slight tear may result in little or no discomfort until more stress is placed on the ligament resulting in a major injury. This ACL injury could have been brewing for some time.
Paige will have the best medical care available and for as long as needed. With her love of the game and her abilities I know she will be back as good as ever.Her greatest asset is her love of the game and her desire to be the best. GO PAIGE! GO HUSKIES!!!
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When Morgan Tuck left UConn, she still had a year of eligibility. She chose to leave because of a recurring knee problem that hindered an otherwise stellar b'ball career. The logic was that if Morgan was ever going to get a paycheck and play at the next level, she had better make herself available for the WNBA before her chronic leg issues rendered her not viable.
Paige has perhaps 3 years left to play for the Huskies (inc. pandemic option). She can return or she can take Tuck's route. Unlike Morgan, Paige has already made a good deal of money with her NIL. She may continue to earn more playing for UConn than in the pros. Bueckers wants an NC. How badly? Would she risk taking a chance of re-injury in order to continue playing with the Huskies? And what is Paige equipped to do should playing the game be denied her? What's Plan B?
The question asked in the video is will Paige ever be the same. She well might be, but, if not, then what? And if she does recover, which is expected, what's her favored option? How long will she stay in Storrs?
IMO, Paige has dreamed of playing and winning a championship with UConn. I fully expect that she will be back on the court next season. But Morgan's tale is a cautionary one that should be considered.
Paige has perhaps 3 years left to play for the Huskies (inc. pandemic option). She can return or she can take Tuck's route. Unlike Morgan, Paige has already made a good deal of money with her NIL. She may continue to earn more playing for UConn than in the pros. Bueckers wants an NC. How badly? Would she risk taking a chance of re-injury in order to continue playing with the Huskies? And what is Paige equipped to do should playing the game be denied her? What's Plan B?
The question asked in the video is will Paige ever be the same. She well might be, but, if not, then what? And if she does recover, which is expected, what's her favored option? How long will she stay in Storrs?
IMO, Paige has dreamed of playing and winning a championship with UConn. I fully expect that she will be back on the court next season. But Morgan's tale is a cautionary one that should be considered.
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I mentioned in another thread that Paige took 2 big knee to knees in the tournament. The 1st one came when she and Berger were going for a lose ball, she was limping off the court so upset that Chris Dailey had to calm her down on the bench. The 2nd came at the end of Stanford when her and one of the Hull Sisters again went for a lose ball, this one looked more to hurt her. I don't understand how she gets so many knee to knees and seems like the protection she has on doesn't seem to minimize the pain.
Tonyc
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Let me say this about Paige. She has had two setbacks and she will need time when she comes back to rest. I dont she Geno playing her full throttle her first season back. I am confident she will come back but as we all have heard she wants to play every minute and I would use caution her first season back. She has played alot of minutes of basketball. The wear and tear on her body could very well be from what we're seeing now. UConn has a great roster this season and will improve that roster next season. We need a Paige healthy and not allow her to push herself as hard as she has in the past.
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Not sure I understand the comments suggesting that Paige's frame and contact contributed to her last two leg issues. While most players could benefit from "bulking up," Paige's past two injuries followed sharp cuts in the open court. Paige is one of the most driven female atheletes in women's sports so while even the doctors can't predict her future, if mental toughness can influence physical well being, she will rehab and be a great contributor for UConn.
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Last season's injury was no sharp cut and obviously no contact. Starting to jog the ball up court, her heel slipped and hyper-extended her leg to cause the injury. And do you have a source that determined that this ACL injury involved a sharp cut? Many involve contact to the side of the knee while others can result from just a stop or landing awkwardly as Fudd did with her ACL tear in HS. There are many female BB players with underdeveloped leg muscles that play countless hours and never tear an ACL, most are simply accidents.
oldude
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The ACL tear is almost always incurred when planting and pivoting (cutting), and is seldom related to impact. Severe ACL tears can also be cumulative, where one or more minor tears/sprains cause weakness in the ligament leading up to a severe tear requiring surgery.
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She has 15 months to rehab before the 2023-24 season. I don't think Geno will play anyone unless they can play at "full throttle." She will be scrimmaging this time next season. Indeed, her first season back could be her last season. Not saying "will." Just "could."
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Tell that to Fudd, Rob Gronkowski, Tom Brady, and my daughter. That's 4 with no pivoting or cutting involved, all with impact. Fudd was landing off an aborted layup attempt. Gronkowski was bashed on the front of his knee, Brady was bashed on the side while planted, and my daughter was stationary when a player landed on the side of her leg.
Gronkowski Knee Hit 12/8/13
On edit, it appears you'll need to Google: video tom brady acl tear and video rob gronkowski acl tear.
oldude
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I did not say an ACL tear could not be the result of an impact, but that it almost always involves planting and pivoting. Planting/pivoting and impact are not mutually exclusive, particularly in football. I am not aware of any ACL tear that occurred to an athlete when the injured leg was not planted on the ground. An ACL ligament is like a rubber band. It breaks when stretched beyond its capacity to do so.
Perhaps I should have commented that ACL tears are seldom related to impact alone.
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Just a thought on how long will Paige grace the campus and Gampel, the three years she may have eligibility or only one because her classs and age issues would be resolved. My guess is she will stay for two, so she can play along with Azzi for two full seasons and no injury issues for either one of them.
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I can agree that a foot must usually be planted but my point would be that 30% to me is more than seldom.
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You don't make decisions based on who is in the team. If she wants to be in the WNBA she should go as a sr. If she starts the WNBA at age 24 I feel like you are stunting her growth.
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It is a real fear. Let's recall that Caroline Doty never claim close to regaining her form after her ACL tear against Syracuse. Shea Ralph's career ended in the NCAA's with her- what?- second or third ACL tear? Way back when, Nicole Wolf was barely a shadow of her freshman self who was an early starter. She suffered two injuries, including a broken bone in her foot, and never got back off the bench. Evina Westbrook was hobbled by her knee injury her entire time with Connecticut, playing well, but in limited minutes.
There are just too many examples of great players who didn't come back from serious injury.
Of course, I'm rooting for Paige all the way. But she's now suffered the third serious injury and undergone her third serious surgery. Hoping for the best, but preparing for bad news.
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"The prayers and love means so much to me and the doubts that I won’t get back to where I was might mean even more."
I'd like to doubt her ability to fully recover if that would help her, but she's got me convinced she will.
oldude
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Surgical & rehabilitation programs have advanced significantly since Doty, Ralph & Wolf’s injuries. If your looking for an example of a great player who came back from a serious ACL tear, there is no better example than UConn’s own Sue Bird, who finished out a great college career with her second national championship, followed by an amazing 21 year professional career, which will end this season with Sue universally recognized as one of the greatest players in the history of WBB.
We are all concerned about Paige. Doom & gloom serves no useful purpose. Hope & optimism cost nothing. If Paige can be hopeful & optimistic following her third surgery in a little over a year. Surely we can all follow her lead.
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Oldude, as always, I appreciate your post, but I want to stand up for Fairfield Fan. I don't think that Fairfield Fan's comments are "doom & gloom." They are just stating the obvious. There is a range of outcomes from this type of injury, despite improvements in care, and some people on the BY, not just Fairfield Fan, are concerned about that. Fairfield Fan, who is rooting for Paige, is voicing that concern. Nothing wrong with that.
As for me, faced with the uncertainty of her future, I remain optimistic. I believe in the powers of Paige.
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agreed, I think the worst thing for her is she never gets told no or never stops. Comment that rubbed me the wrong way was when Geno said he didn't want to take Paige out vs Notre Dame because he annoys her to be in games. As a hc it's your job to control the players from themselves. I'm sure every player would play 49 minutes if it was up to them, but that's why Geno gets paid to make those tough decisions. This time around hopefully Geno is more strict and direct when she needs to sit even if she is pouting.
Carnac
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Like most UConn fans, I was really looking forward to the upcoming season. I wanted to see the 1-2 punch of Paige and Azzi. I pray no one else goes down. Understanding that the other top 10 programs have improved their rosters via recruiting and the portal, this season will be more
All the usual suspects will return for 2022-2023 as formidable as ever. Stanfod, Texas, Iowa, South Carolina, Louisville, Baylor, Maryland, NC State, and newcomer LSU will again be vying for an invitation to the final four at the American Airlines Center in Dallas Texas.
As usual, the road to the final four will be challenging. One or two loss programs capable of getting there won’t make it. No one outside of UConn Nation (especially those on UConn’s schedule) will feel sorry for the Huskies this year because they lost their best player for the season. If anything they may see it as UConn falling further back to the pack and now being a little less formidable.
I could use some good news right now because I’m not nearly as optimistic about the coming season as I was a couple of weeks ago. Still too many unknowns about our team. Having potential is great. Playing up to and exceeding it is something else. To each and every player on this team, if you are ever going to step up for your coach and your teammates, NOW is the time!!
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oldude
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I absolutely agree with your comment that “there is a range of outcomes from this type of injury.” That sentiment was not something remotely suggested in the post I responded to. Hence my suggestion that doom & gloom serves no useful purpose.
There are a significant number of athletes who have successfully recovered from ACL tears. Let’s offer them up as examples of Paige’s potential recovery rather than listing those who could not make it all the way back.
I mentioned Sue Bird. Here’s a partial list of additional top athletes who have successfully recovered from ACL surgery: Tom Brady, JJ Watt, Rob Gronkowski, Adrian Peterson, Teddy Bridgewater, Kendrick Perkins, Kyle Lowry, Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Skylar Diggins, Candace Parker, Gabby Williams and Seimone Agustus. There are hundreds of additional athletes with similar experiences.
A special note on Megan Rapinoe. She suffered 3 ACL tears, the last of which occurred in 2015 at the age of 30. Despite her age Rapinoe fully recovered to become the star of USA’s World Cup Championship team that won the gold medal in 2019 as well as the Olympic team that won the bronze in 2020.
Right now I don’t want to hear about all the athletes that didn’t make it back from surgery. When Paige decides she’s done, then I’ll accept it as a fact. Until that happens I will continue to be optimistic that she will return to play basketball, better than ever.
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Paige is such a bright spot that this news is truly hard to hear as a basketball fan and especially as a Huskies fan.
The TV clip is "TV" for ratings and controversy but raises relevant questions about NIL and injury recovery - not ones I have the answer to.
However I am quite concerned about our other players coming back from injury/surgery - especially with a short squad. I do think this conversation is fair and, at this juncture, unknown. I may not be up-to-date but Doka, Caroline, Aubrey at least. Godspeed them all, but this is unknown stuff and fair to question. I too am wishful, but wishing is not reality.
My other worry is the short squad and what - if any - options we have for additional bodies. I understand walk-ons are possible but starter quality walk-ons are rare at this level. In the past Geno has gone overseas for help, I don't know the rules if that is even an option at this late date.
So I don't wish to be labeled a negative nanny, but I think we have concerns fair to discuss.