Notre Dame's Achonwa To Miss 4 Weeks With Knee Injury

[UConnCat]

South Bend Tribune reporting that Natalie Achonwa injured her knee (MCL) in practice on Saturday. She is scheduled for surgery tomorrow and is expected to miss about a month. Muffet talks about going with a 4-guard lineup which she'd mentioned as an option even before the Achonwa injury.

Achonwa's absence will hurt in the expected Nov 20 match-up with Baylor but, as the article states, she could also miss games against other ranked opponents (So. California, Duke, Kentucky and Purdue). Tough blow for the Irish.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/sbt...-month-with-bad-knee-20111031,0,6628230.story

 

[rjp172]

Baylor in Waco probably wasn't going to happen anyway. I think this year is going to be similar to last year. The top teams win/loss records against each other are going to be largely determined by home court advantage. USC and Duke are holiday tourney/neutral sites that won't be attended well by any of the teams. Kentucky game is in South Bend. Purdue has injury losses of their own and no one on this team has ever lost to PU. The upside is that two years ago ND played a 4 guard line-up so it's not going to have to be a total learning experience. ND's guards are bigger and more solid the most teams. They'll be able to effective in the post. Personally I'm hoping to get to see a lot of Markisha Wright. Ariel Braker is suppose to be fully recovered and should get some playing time as well.

 

[VAUConnFan]

This changes the equation. Even when she comes back in a month, it will be a while before she is effective.

 

[speedoo]

ND has usually been a team that starts slowly, with an unexpected loss or two (like UCLA and KY last year). Without Achonwa, it will be even more of a challenge than usual, and their ranking could suffer.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I'll be curious about the ND game in Waco. ND is not the type of team that hurts themselves, but they will be overwhelmed with Baylor's size and athleticism. Diggins v. Syms--that should be very interesting!

I'll be surprised if ND is ranked 1 or 2 on New Years Day.

 

[magical2]

I'll be curious about the ND game in Waco. ND is not the type of team that hurts themselves, but they will be overwhelmed with Baylor's size and athleticism. Diggins v. Syms--that should be very interesting!

I'll be surprised if ND is ranked 1 or 2 on New Years Day.

This is going to impact ND even assuming she is out for a month. A big aspect repeated over and over was the returning players that ND has. Injuries can have an impact on any team. If it is not more serious and she recovers during this early portion of the season, they will be fine other than ranking. If they are all healthy as season enters March,the injury could be a blessing in disquise. If it is more serious,it will have a potentially large impact on them come March. The Baylor game will be interesting in many aspects. I will be surprised also if they are ranked 1 or 2 come the New Year.

 

[Kevin G]

Fortunate for ND she should be back in time for Big East play. However, we will not know how effective she will be which can benefit UCONN's chances for repeating as Big East Regular Season Champs!!!!

GO UCONN

 

[EricLA]

i like ND and Muffett as well. its' a tough blow for them for sure. i saw her in the BET last year and was REALLY impressed with what i saw. she's the kid from Canada, isn't she? as Mil and Magical said, ND won't be in the top 2 IMHO come January without her, but they are certainly talented enough to stay near the top.

as someone else pointed out - they lost a bunch of games last year (maybe 6 or so during the regular season?) but came on really strong at the end. probably similar to what they will do this year...

 

[Outside Shot]

Notre Dame is treading on thin ice when you consider Devereaux Peters has had repeated knee issues and I think Mallory has as well. They'll be holding their breath all season.

 

[Icebear]

Notre Dame is treading on thin ice when you consider Devereaux Peters has had repeated knee issues and I think Mallory has as well. They'll be holding their breath all season.

They are about as vulnerable as we were last year. One tweak away from disaster.

 

[MilfordHusky]

They are about as vulnerable as we were last year. One tweak away from disaster.

I'd say one tweak away from exiting in the Sweet 16 or Elite 8. By UConn standards, that may be a disaster. For N.D., they have not been to the Final Four for some time. If they fail to make it this year, I'd put it more in the "disappointment" category than "disaster" category. But I agree that they have little margin for error/injury.

 

[CalifHusky]

I'd say one tweak away from exiting in the Sweet 16 or Elite 8. By UConn standards, that may be a disaster. For N.D., they have not been to the Final Four for some time. If they fail to make it this year, I'd put it more in the "disappointment" category than "disaster" category. But I agree that they have little margin for error/injury.

Hi Mil
ND was @ the Final4 last year......where they sent us home - I know I would like to forget that game too!!

 

[Icebear]

Playing in the NC game last it is likely the ND would consider a Sweet 16 or Elite 8 a disaster.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Hi Mil
ND was @ the Final4 last year......where they sent us home - I know I would like to forget that game too!!

I was inaccurate--sorry. I meant prior to that. They made the FF in 2001 and won. They made it in 2011 and finished 2nd. They are due again in 2021, with a finish of 3rd projected.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Playing in the NC game last it is likely the ND would consider a Sweet 16 or Elite 8 a disaster.

Let's see if they can do it again. The folks at Maryland thought it would be a regular occurrence for them, and they learned how difficult it is.

 

[Icebear]

Let's see if they can do it again. The folks at Maryland thought it would be a regular occurrence for them, and they learned how difficult it is.

Maryland is not nearly as well coached, especially, defensively.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Maryland is not nearly as well coached, especially, defensively.

Yeah, but I think the point that it is hard to maintain that level for an extended period is valid. Geno clearly says it. UConn, Tennessee, Stanford, and LSU managed it. And LSU has slipped since then.
The Maryland 2006 team may have been more talented than any ND team other than 2001, even if their defense was suspect.

 

[Icebear]

As I said coaching. Muffet vs Brenda Frese. Always go with Muffet.

 

[MilfordHusky]

As I said coaching. Muffet vs Brenda Frese. Always go with Muffet.

I won't argue with that part!

 

[RoyDodger]

A little research on MCL injuries indicates that the length of recovery depends on the extent of the tear of the ligament. Some athletes can return in two weeks and others might take six weeks. Since Achonwa is young and otherwise healthy, she should not need extensive physical therapy. But one never knows. This is why I always like to bring up the counting chickens before they hatch proverb. One bad step and a great team can become a good team.

 

[rjp172]

The nature of Achonwa's injury seems to be of the less serious (if there is such a thing) of MCL's. There wasn't a moment where she felt the injury happen or knew something went wrong. It was after practice and she noticed swelling. She will definitely miss Baylor, USC and Duke. Kentucky and Purdue come after the 4 week window. Baylor doesn't look good especially with the game in Waco. The ranking on New Year's Day is as about as useful as the pre-season AA team that most here discount. The top 6 will all face each other in the time period. There will be one undefeated at the most. Top 2 will be decided by number of loses and they all have an equal opportunity to acquire them. Baylor less so because they get their toughest competition at home.