PacoSwede
Creeker in fact
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Gabby Williams, Morgan Tuck, Mikala Johnson, Caroline Doty, Brittany Hunter: All these women, I believe, joined the Huskies program after suffering knee injuries. Doty already was in the UConn fold (had already ‘verbaled’) when her (first) injury occurred, I think. But UConn tendered a bb scholarship to Hunter even though it knew she was damaged goods. I believe this was also the case with Williams, Tuck and Johnson. (Corrections welcome.)
Is it unusual for schools to take such ‘gambles’ on wounded players? Or does UConn stand out in this regard?
Are such gambles a basically a sentimental action, or a good bet? Or a dumb one?
All these players were exceptionally good prospects before their injuries. That makes the payoff of a winning bet more attractive, but how does that weigh against the odds of the player recovering sufficiently to fulfill her original potential?
Hunter couldn’t, nor could Doty, although both were able to play well enough to earn significant minutes on an elite team. Tuck so far is in that realm too, but still has a chance to totally recover. Johnson couldn’t do that while at UConn, but has become a standout player at Wisconsin. Still, who knows if she’s the player she might have been sans injury?
Brianna Banks, Mel Thomas, Kalana Greene, Nicole Wolff, Sue Bird and Shea Ralph suffered ACLs while at UConn. (Are there others? Were such injuries much rarer in the earlier era?) Nicole never approached her earlier potential. Shea, while still an outstanding player after the injury – which in time became multiple – had her career snuffed out. To me, it’s hard to assess the injury’s effect on Mel, but perhaps she would still be playing for bucks if it hadn’t occurred.
That leaves only KG and Sue as clearly successful survivors of such injuries . Out of 11 injured players, two apparently recovered completely, one (Mikala) perhaps is on the road to join them, four were robbed of some of their pre-injury potential (Shea, Nicole, Brittany and Caroline -- and Mel probably would round that into a quintet).
That leaves Gabby, Morgan and BB: What will be their post-injury fates?
Does UConn make too many recruiting bets on the wounded; are they worth the risk? You have to consider that even if full potential is never realized, disappointing BYers' lofty projections, there still can be valuable contributions from such kids.
Is it unusual for schools to take such ‘gambles’ on wounded players? Or does UConn stand out in this regard?
Are such gambles a basically a sentimental action, or a good bet? Or a dumb one?
All these players were exceptionally good prospects before their injuries. That makes the payoff of a winning bet more attractive, but how does that weigh against the odds of the player recovering sufficiently to fulfill her original potential?
Hunter couldn’t, nor could Doty, although both were able to play well enough to earn significant minutes on an elite team. Tuck so far is in that realm too, but still has a chance to totally recover. Johnson couldn’t do that while at UConn, but has become a standout player at Wisconsin. Still, who knows if she’s the player she might have been sans injury?
Brianna Banks, Mel Thomas, Kalana Greene, Nicole Wolff, Sue Bird and Shea Ralph suffered ACLs while at UConn. (Are there others? Were such injuries much rarer in the earlier era?) Nicole never approached her earlier potential. Shea, while still an outstanding player after the injury – which in time became multiple – had her career snuffed out. To me, it’s hard to assess the injury’s effect on Mel, but perhaps she would still be playing for bucks if it hadn’t occurred.
That leaves only KG and Sue as clearly successful survivors of such injuries . Out of 11 injured players, two apparently recovered completely, one (Mikala) perhaps is on the road to join them, four were robbed of some of their pre-injury potential (Shea, Nicole, Brittany and Caroline -- and Mel probably would round that into a quintet).
That leaves Gabby, Morgan and BB: What will be their post-injury fates?
Does UConn make too many recruiting bets on the wounded; are they worth the risk? You have to consider that even if full potential is never realized, disappointing BYers' lofty projections, there still can be valuable contributions from such kids.
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