Gilbert

[Danzz]

I'm concerned about his shoulder and this whole thing about ordering a better brace concerns me. The kid has been working out with a brace that apparently wasn't good enough and it makes me question the condition of his shoulder. Gilbert is the key to making this years back court look different than last years.

 

[Huskyforlife]

"There's buzz he'll be UConns best player"

Misses first practice with injury suffered last year.

 

[Peacefrog]

Yeah, having some flashbacks to Steve Pikiell. Hopefully they're just being very cautious, we really need Gilbert this year.

 

[Storrs South]

We already have seen him play some from a month ago and he looked fine. I read it as more of a comfort issue than anything. It's one practice, let's wait some before going full panic mode. As a friendly reminder:

 

[awfuldan]

I don't think it's anything to worry about. It's a good thing that the staff is being very cautious. He is getting the best care and training possible. Dislocated shoulder is not a career ending injury.

 

[80shusky]

They already said they would be cautious with him early. People on this board were talking about him starting and getting major minutes at the point. I would pump the brakes on that. Let's hope he feels good and can play some productive minutes when he can and hopefully he is good health wise at some point. Hope the best for the kid and don't expect too much early. Go Huskies!

 

[LIuconn]

Thought he was 100% cleared?

 

[Fishy]

They held him out because they wanted to get a sturdier brace for his shoulder.

It’s right there in the articles about practice.

Not ‘we held him out because he was hurt’ - they ordered a better brace.

They don’t want him running into Eric Cobb until the Cobb-proof brace arrives. It’s okay.

 

[champs99and04]

The timing of their decision to order him a better brace is a little odd. And by odd I mean enraging. Quite frankly, I would like for this saga to be over.

On the bright side, it looks like Larrier practiced and it was uneventful?

 

[boog204]

I'm concerned about his shoulder and this whole thing about ordering a better brace concerns me. The kid has been working out with a brace that apparently wasn't good enough and it makes me question the condition of his shoulder. Gilbert is the key to making this years back court look different than last years.

I hurt my shoulder playing baseball when I was 16. It's been 20+ years and two surgeries and it has never totally healed. I'm absolutely not trying to say we are doomed, but bad shoulders, sometimes, have a habit of never totally healing. We have had two guys with the issue in Pikiell and Ricky Moore.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Yeah, having some flashbacks to Steve Pikiell. Hopefully they're just being very cautious, we really need Gilbert this year.

Actually we needed him more last year. At least this year we have a backup secondary ball handler
The Anderson pickup could be the best pickup of the off season.
It allows us to go slower with Gilbert recovery

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Watch as I straddle the fence here ...

Recurrent shoulder instability is tricky. One of the laws of orthopaedic surgery is that the best chance at a great result is the first chance. Having required a second procedure isn't ideal, and usually indicates a worse instability.That said, there are revision operations that can be very successful.

It's possible that they just want to be extra protective - no one wants a third surgery for this. It's also possible that there are some concerns about the stability, and the shoulder needs more constraint. Without knowing more about the original surgery, the second procedure and the anatomic problems they were dealing with I can't tell you more.

My advice: be cautiously optimistic . How's that for fence straddling?

 

[pj]

They don’t want him running into Eric Cobb until the Cobb-proof brace arrives. It’s okay.

Quite frankly, I'm seriously disappointed in Eric Cobb if they can find a Cobb-proof brace. A Cobb-proof Sherman Tank I'd be OK with.

 

[Danzz]

I hurt my shoulder playing baseball when I was 16. It's been 20+ years and two surgeries and it has never totally healed. I'm absolutely not trying to say we are doomed, but bad shoulders, sometimes, have a habit of never totally healing. We have had two guys with the issue in Pikiell and Ricky Moore.

I know about bad shoulders, I have 2 and one of them doesn't even look like a shoulder in a cat scan.

 

[TRest]

Watch as I straddle the fence here ...

Recurrent shoulder instability is tricky. One of the laws of orthopaedic surgery is that the best chance at a great result is the first chance. Having required a second procedure isn't ideal, and usually indicates a worse instability.That said, there are revision operations that can be very successful.

It's possible that they just want to be extra protective - no one wants a third surgery for this. It's also possible that there are some concerns about the stability, and the shoulder needs more constraint. Without knowing more about the original surgery, the second procedure and the anatomic problems they were dealing with I can't tell you more.

My advice: be cautiously optimistic . How's that for fence straddling?

Because a shoulder has such a wide range of motion, unlike a knee or elbow, is there a shoulder brace that can provide protection from dislocation without restricting necessary movements for playing a sport like basketball? I'll hang up and listen.

 

[Sky ball]

We already have seen him play some from a month ago and he looked fine. I read it as more of a comfort issue than anything. It's one practice, let's wait some before going full panic mode. As a friendly reminder:

Full Panic Mode is what we do best!

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Because a shoulder has such a wide range of motion, unlike a knee or elbow, is there a shoulder brace that can provide protection from dislocation without restricting necessary movements for playing a sport like basketball? I'll hang up and listen.

Short answer, no.

Long answer, the most useful braces for basketball generally create tension as the shoulder moves into more dangerous positions. The muscles then have to work harder helping the shoulder stay stable. It's very different in football, where the braces often restrict the shoulder from reaching the dangerous position. But as football is a collision sport there's still significant risk of re-injury.

 

[Palatine]

Even if he is 100% for the opener, the big question is can he stay healthy. This is a keep your fingers crossed proposition.

 

[dennismenace]

Short answer, no.

Long answer, the most useful braces for basketball generally create tension as the shoulder moves into more dangerous positions. The muscles then have to work harder helping the shoulder stay stable. It's very different in football, where the braces often restrict the shoulder from reaching the dangerous position. But as football is a collision sport there's still significant risk of re-injury.

Thanks for the professional insights. As fans not much we can do but hope for the best. Though basketball is not a collision sport, a small (though strong) man driving hard into the lane where the "bigs" live can still lead to collisions.
So can diving for loose balls (like fumbles). That said, a previous comment above about the backup point in Anderson is well taken and the staff will have to look at alternate protection (as I am sure they already are) in the years to come. Wishing AG the best. Given his desire and work ethic he will do his best for sure.

 

[Blaneylover]

They held him out because they wanted to get a sturdier brace for his shoulder.

It’s right there in the articles about practice.

Not ‘we held him out because he was hurt’ - they ordered a better brace.

They don’t want him running into Eric Cobb until the Cobb-proof brace arrives. It’s okay.

I get that...but why wasn't the thing ordered and fitted in time for the first practice? They've been running pick-up for weeks.

 

[Husky68]

Probably a lot of brace types, with different restriction, weight and size attributes. Having played a bit with "type A" brace perhaps decided through Gilbert's comments and other professional opinions of his comments to "improve" the specific fit of his brace related to certain comments he made. Sometimes only use gives you enough info to improve the selection. Here sounds like more heavy duty, is it a practice only brace that is heavier duty with a lighter one for games? Can look at it as stupid to have to wait through 1st practice for new brace, or good that are constantly getting feedback from Gilbert and physical team to improve what he is using vs. his particular circumstances and expect them to continue to do that throughout his career. I'll worry about it being the former but hope/be fairly confident it is the latter.

 

[TRUCONN76]

I hurt my shoulder playing baseball when I was 16. It's been 20+ years and two surgeries and it has never totally healed. I'm absolutely not trying to say we are doomed, but bad shoulders, sometimes, have a habit of never totally healing. We have had two guys with the issue in Pikiell and Ricky Moore.

I have had 3 shoulder surgeries at UConn who have some of the best shoulder surgeons in the country and came back stronger each time

 

[krinklecut]

The timing of their decision to order him a better brace is a little odd. And by odd I mean enraging.

I think a lot of people here are imagining ordering a brace as ordering something on Amazon Prime. This will be a super custom brace fitted perfectly to AG. Those things take time. They could have thought they'd have it by now, so there was no need to say anything. Since they haven't gotten it yet, they needed to explain the situation.

 

[Fishy]

I hurt my shoulder playing baseball when I was 16. It's been 20+ years and two surgeries and it has never totally healed. I'm absolutely not trying to say we are doomed, but bad shoulders, sometimes, have a habit of never totally healing. We have had two guys with the issue in Pikiell and Ricky Moore.

Shoulders and feet - two things you'd rather not see players injure.

 

[champs99and04]

I think a lot of people here are imagining ordering a brace as ordering something on Amazon Prime. This will be a super custom brace fitted perfectly to AG. Those things take time. They could have thought they'd have it by now, so there was no need to say anything. Since they haven't gotten it yet, they needed to explain the situation.

While I admit that I did have that picture in mind, I still think this is something a high D-1 basketball program should have been able to take care of by now.

Louisville would have gotten him the brace in time, is what I'm saying.

 

[ctchamps]

While I admit that I did have that picture in mind, I still think this is something a high D-1 basketball program should have been able to take care of by now.

Louisville would have gotten him the brace in time, is what I'm saying.

They've shown they get things done by hook(er) or by crook(edness).

 

[BUConn10]

A proper medical staff is fully equipped to get AG the brace he needs, and UConn has one of the better Kinesiology programs in the country. This issue is one of oversight.

 

[ctchamps]

A proper medical staff is fully equipped to get AG the brace he needs, and UConn has one of the better Kinesiology programs in the country. This issue is one of oversight.

It's good to know the support is there but how do you know it's an issue of oversight and not some change in the regimen for Gilbert that necessitated a reevaluation?

 

[BUConn10]

It's good to know the support is there but how do you know it's an issue of oversight and not some change in the regimen for Gilbert that necessitated a reevaluation?

Because the staff, facilities and resources are all there. The kinesiology program actually has its main offices and many classes right in Gampel and the students work with the athletics teams all the time. If Gilbert's issue is actually how it is described (which if often times isn't due to a case of poor communication due to Twitter's 140 character limit) then there is really one member of the medical staff who regularly spends time with AG and must have decided the brace isn't the ideal fit. It's not really Ollie's call or any of the coaches, there is usually one person who monitors these guys for the reason of consistency.

 

[ctchamps]

Because the staff, facilities and resources are all there. The kinesiology program actually has its main offices and many classes right in Gampel and the students work with the athletics teams all the time. If Gilbert's issue is actually how it is described (which if often times isn't due to a case of poor communication due to Twitter's 140 character limit) then there is really one member of the medical staff who regularly spends time with AG and must have decided the brace isn't the ideal fit. It's not really Ollie's call or any of the coaches, there is usually one person who monitors these guys for the reason of consistency.

So it may be oversight or it may be some new parameter occurred and they made the call. I would seriously doubt this was oversight given how import Gilbert is to UConn's success.