Thoughts on injuries

[Vancat]

Firstly, I will admit I do not know the histories of our players' injuries pre-UConn, other than knowing both Paige & Azzi had troubles. I am wondering if our team has a higher than average percentage of players that came into UConn with pre-college injuries. I really don't have any idea, I am just bringing up a thought I had. Having said that, I wonder if Geno and the coaching team, when recruiting, might now shy away from players that have had issues, more than in the past?

 

[Centerstream]

Doubtful.

 

[Zinethar]

Highly motivated, highly driven players will always be more likely to suffer injuries. Unfortunately it is part of the package.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

All teams have these injuries. It only sticks out here because we're talking core players in multiple years. If they were at the end of the rotation...there wouldn't be all the doom and gloom.

 

[marti3td]

Do we actually know why and for how long Ayanna will be out for?

 

[BRS24]

Do we actually know why and for how long Ayanna will be out for?

Per recap in article about this past weekend, "Patterson, a sophomore forward, had surgical procedure on her knee in June. (Patterson) had some issues coming out of high school and it's just might have been in a game last year or something she, you know, aggravated (her knee) again,” Auriemma said. “We’ve tried a whole bunch of different things and she's not, you know, she's not responded consistently like we had hoped from a medical standpoint. So there really is no timeline.”

 

[boscolino]

Per recap in article about this past weekend, "Patterson, a sophomore forward, had surgical procedure on her knee in June. (Patterson) had some issues coming out of high school and it's just might have been in a game last year or something she, you know, aggravated (her knee) again,” rAuriemma said. “We’ve tried a whole bunch of different things and she's not, you know, she's not responded consistently like we had hoped from a medical standpoint. So there really is no timeline.”

So bad. Time will tell.

 

[Forego]

Two players who originally tore their ACL in high school come to mind. Gabby Williams and Caroline Doty. Gabby did not suffer another ACL tear while at UConn. Caroline tore her ACL at least twice at UConn. It’s pretty much a crapshoot. Players who never had a previous knee injury can suffer an initial injury while playing for UConn. Others who had a previous injury do not have a recurrence. And others have had multiple injury recurrences.

 

[pvdoggy]

Per recap in article about this past weekend, "Patterson, a sophomore forward, had surgical procedure on her knee in June. (Patterson) had some issues coming out of high school and it's just might have been in a game last year or something she, you know, aggravated (her knee) again,” Auriemma said. “We’ve tried a whole bunch of different things and she's not, you know, she's not responded consistently like we had hoped from a medical standpoint. So there really is no timeline.”

wow, that does not sound good at all, quite different than "she is really really close" from a few weeks ago.

 

[BRS24]

Per recap in article about this past weekend, "Patterson, a sophomore forward, had surgical procedure on her knee in June. (Patterson) had some issues coming out of high school and it's just might have been in a game last year or something she, you know, aggravated (her knee) again,” Auriemma said. “We’ve tried a whole bunch of different things and she's not, you know, she's not responded consistently like we had hoped from a medical standpoint. So there really is no timeline.”

wow, that does not sound good at all, quite different than "she is really really close" from a few weeks ago.

Knees and rehab can be a tricky thing. One day, something works, and the next ....

 

[Longtime fan]

wow, that does not sound good at all, quite different than "she is really really close" from a few weeks ago.

We don't really. know what the procedure was. But her recovery ( or lack thereof ) is troubling. Some US soccer stars ( Sam Mewis, Caterina Mecurio ) had knee surgeries and they have both been out more than a year , with no recovery in sight.

 

[PacoSwede]

sue bird lost most of freshman year to acl and never again (for 20+ years) had any knee issue -- but plenty of broken noses. so there is hope that acls don't always recur.

it's in my head that sue also had the injury playing soccer in high school. can anyone confirm? i may be thinking of caroline doty.

 

[BRS24]

sue bird lost most of freshman year to acl and never again (for 20+ years) had any knee issue -- but plenty of broken noses. so there is hope that acls don't always recur.

it's in my head that sue also had the injury playing soccer in high school. can anyone confirm? i may be thinking of caroline doty.

I believe you are correct re Doty. WRT Bird, I think her injury at UConn was her 1st.

 

[Bone Dog]

On the idea of not recruiting kids with pre-existing injuries. Morgan Cheli suffered an ankle injury last spring or summer, iirc. I don't think you can pass up a kid like that as a recruiter.

 

[MilfordHusky]

sue bird lost most of freshman year to acl and never again (for 20+ years) had any knee issue -- but plenty of broken noses. so there is hope that acls don't always recur.

it's in my head that sue also had the injury playing soccer in high school. can anyone confirm? i may be thinking of caroline doty.

Knee surgeries forced Sue to miss the 2013 and 2019 seasons. Between that, she also underwent treatment to repair a torn labrum in her right hip in 2011 and her left hip in 2014.

 

[hoopsdiva]

wow, that does not sound good at all, quite different than "she is really really close" from a few weeks ago.

I'm starting to get worried that Ayanna may red shirt this year. Trying to purge those negative thoughts.

 

[Rowdy831]

Injuries are a part of the game. The number of non contact serious knee injuries UConn has had is alarming to say the least. Women athletes in general do suffer more knee injuries than the male counterparts in their mid teens so not surprising they have issues before they get to UConn. What is surprising is how many issues they have once they arrive in Storrs since they should be getting the best training and nutritional advice available, at least theoretically.

Has UConn done any investigative work into the strength and conditioning program? They need to look into doing something different.

 

[PacoSwede]

an edit:

sue bird lost most of freshman year to acl and never again (for 20+ years) had any knee issue -- but plenty of broken noses. so there is hope that acls don't always recur.

also, geno took on brit hunter although he knew she had bad knee issues at duke. we had recruited her out of high school -- a No 1 recruit -- but she chose duke, where she ruined her knee as a freshman. he said 'we don't care, come on up to storrs' despite her limitations.

a history of injuries doesn't deter geno if he knows the kid is of UConn quality off the court.

as a corollary: if she doesn't meet that standard she's unlikely to be pursued by uconn regardless of outstanding BB skills (or size, speed or ranking) ... that may be the reason why highly ranked girls that some BYers salivate over never get a look from geno. Recruiting mavens should realize geno knows more about the prospect's fit to the team than you. i think he knows what he is doing.

 

[BRS24]

Injuries are a part of the game. The number of non contact serious knee injuries UConn has had is alarming to say the least. Women athletes in general do suffer more knee injuries than the male counterparts in their mid teens so not surprising they have issues before they get to UConn. What is surprising is how many issues they have once they arrive in Storrs since they should be getting the best training and nutritional advice available, at least theoretically.

Has UConn done any investigative work into the strength and conditioning program? They need to look into doing something different.

Channeling my inner Arnold Schwarzenegger, "it's not the strength and conditioning program". Tim Fudd had to say this on twitter today after a few WNBA players were parroting the same idea about the S&C program. I posted a quote earlier that a doc surmises that there may have been more damage to Azzi last season when she got knocked 2x, however difficult to assess unless you go in and look.

Andrea Hudy has an impressive resume and reputation, and UConn "stole" her back from Texas. Women have an inherent physiological disadvantage compared to men, from hip to ankle anatomy, the common imbalance of quad to hamstring strength, internal structure of the femoral notch, etc, etc. You could put two female athletes side by side and regardless of physical makeup, etc, you could never predict if one vs the other would be more prone to knee injuries. And that's not even including the random incidental contact on the court.

 

[oldhusky]

I'm starting to get worried that Ayanna may red shirt this year. Trying to purge those negative thoughts.

It does sound like it has turned into if she returns this year not when. I presumed she had some kind of procedure and it was just taking longer than originally expected. This sounds like whatever they tried didn't work and they don't know what will. I wonder if another surgical procedure might be in her future before she does come back. If so redshirt would pretty much be a given.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Injuries are a part of the game. The number of non contact serious knee injuries UConn has had is alarming to say the least. Women athletes in general do suffer more knee injuries than the male counterparts in their mid teens so not surprising they have issues before they get to UConn. What is surprising is how many issues they have once they arrive in Storrs since they should be getting the best training and nutritional advice available, at least theoretically.

Has UConn done any investigative work into the strength and conditioning program? They need to look into doing something different.

If you look at stats over a ten-year span, do you have any evidence that UConn has any more injuries than the average D1 program?

 

[uconnfan68]

Firstly, I will admit I do not know the histories of our players' injuries pre-UConn, other than knowing both Paige & Azzi had troubles. I am wondering if our team has a higher than average percentage of players that came into UConn with pre-college injuries. I really don't have any idea, I am just bringing up a thought I had. Having said that, I wonder if Geno and the coaching team, when recruiting, might now shy away from players that have had issues, more than in the past?

Glad he didn’t shy away from Sue Bird. She did ok after freshman year.

 

[Vancat]

If you look at stats over a ten-year span, do you have any evidence that UConn has any more injuries than the average D1 program?

I would like to know the answer to this, too.

 

[stamfordhusky]

I would like to know the answer to this, too.

Based on the post that I responded to, I had assumed the poster knew all of the injury statistics. Otherwise, his post made no sense.

 

[Jim]

Otherwise, his post made no sense.

Posts on the Boneyard have to make sense? NOW you tell me…