UConn Confirms; Jana Out for 23-24 Season

[hard2please]

this totally sphinx

 

[LuvBball]

I feel awful for her. Here's hoping for a safe and speedy recovery!!

 

[The deacon]

Some reason Caroline has been overlooked in this regard?

For sure, Gordo... the point should originally have just said 'her teammates will be there to help her through this.'

 

[CardsWBBfan]

Wish Jana a full recovery. What a tremendous blow to your program.

I feel like maybe I saw this somewhere.. has there been a look-see into the strength and conditioning program? I say it not in an accusatory way, but in a curious way. You all have been plagued with injuries for years.

 

[Ladeeeeda]

Wish Jana a full recovery. What a tremendous blow to your program.

I feel like maybe I saw this somewhere.. has there been a look-see into the strength and conditioning program? I say it not in an accusatory way, but in a curious way. You all have been plagued with injuries for years.

Perhaps it has more to do with the type of player UCONN recruits. UCONN more consistently than anyone else recruits high motor kids with elite work ethics. Geno has no tolerance for players who take a more lackadaisical approach to the game. In today's 24/7 high school bball environment, I have to think these hard working kids are more prone to injury due to overuse. The high school landscape needs to change.

 

[LarryLegend]

Didn’t David Ortiz as well?

he had big problems with both Achilles but not as i remember not an actual rupture?

 

[oldhusky]

The front court is still strong, but I don't really consider Aaliyah or Ayanna prototypical post players............it's Amari and Ice and I'm not sure of Amari's physical condition at this point..............are we certain that she will be at 100% for the start of the new season?

Different shades on the same theme, but I tend to think of our players by position, or at least what they are most likely to play, not whether they are a true post or not. IMO we had two 5's we expected to be quite good, one was likely to be the starter and the other the principle backup. Those were Jana and Ice, and now one is gone.

Yes we have another 5 in Amari who I hope will be very good, but based on two disappointing years I can't honestly expect it, although learning she may have played much of last year with a nagging injury that was dealt with this summer, gives me more hope than I previously had.

The 4 position is covered in so many ways. An All American level starter in Aaliyah and a proven star substitute that should be more available this year at the 4, namely Aubrey, who had to be more of a wing last year out of necessity. Aubrey's performance at the 4 her first two years was far better than Ayanna's last year for example, Ayanna probably would have to make a dramatic improvement to just stay in the rotation.

She may very well do that, but the bar for playing time at the 4 is extremely high with a proven great 1-2 punch, before even considering Caroline, Ice or Amari being used there, or Ayanna blossoming into a star. As long as she doesn't start, Aubrey could play about half the game providing great backup play at both the 3 and the 4.

But now that scenario is dependent on Ice being ready to start at the 5. If she isn't we might have to move Aaliyah to the 5 and start Aubrey at the 4. That takes away much of Aubrey's ability to help on the wing, means Aaliyah plays most of the season out of position at the 5, and means we now need backup 4 minutes from say Ayanna or Caroline. Note a bad situation, but not nearly as good as it could have been either.

 

[maple]

So sorry to hear about Jana. I wish her a speedy recovery and am looking forward to seeing her play next season.

 

[Urshurak]

Hope she gets through the surgery quickly and is ready to hit it hard next season. I feel awful for her. She was very excited to play.

The way I look at it, she was going to fill a big role along with AE and Ice. That's okay, she can fill in for AE after this years National Championship comes back to Storrs!

All this being said, hoping for a HUGE jump from Amari and AP. Both have the talent, just need to make it happen on the court. I still think AP could be a BEAST if she can get it all together.

 

[Centerstream]

I have not read all of the posts so my bad if this was mentioned. But is it worthwhile to play in these off season tournaments? I know that they love playing ball not only for themselves but for country. Whether it’s international or USA basketball. Sometimes chilling out around the pool, beach or just taking extra foul shots may be a better thing.

You do realize that Jana’s injury literally occurred after she had missed a foul shot, so...Even though there was live action, she was stepping back from the line when she went to the floor. The same action that could happen while retrieving any missed extra foul shot.

 

[ConnMotors]

You do realize that Jana’s injury literally occurred after she had missed a foul shot, so...Even though there was live action, she was stepping back from the line when she went to the floor. The same action that could happen while retrieving any missed extra foul shot.

It was just a comment. Nothing more!

 

[Inthepaint]

Can’t properly express my reaction when I heard about Jana’s injury, profanity being forbidden on the BY board.
I hope Jana will be able to come through the surgery/healing/rehab process and return next season ready & able to do what she appears to LOVE doing.
She seems to have the personal drive & strength of character to go with her talent that is a prerequisite for joining this “Band of Sisters”.
It almost seems like some coven of witches somewhere ( Knoxville, South Bend?) have laid a curse on our beloved Huskies.
The only thing we know that these Amazons won’t do is quit.
Supposedly, whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
Geno & Company must all be a bunch of Hulks by now!

 

[tower1]

Can’t properly express my reaction when I heard about Jana’s injury, profanity being forbidden on the BY board.
I hope Jana will be able to come through the surgery/healing/rehab process and return next season ready & able to do what she appears to LOVE doing.
She seems to have the personal drive & strength of character to go with her talent that is a prerequisite for joining this “Band of Sisters”.
It almost seems like some coven of witches somewhere ( Knoxville, South Bend?) have laid a curse on our beloved Huskies.
The only thing we know that these Amazons won’t do is quit.
Supposedly, whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
Geno & Company must all be a bunch of Hulks by now!

I wish Geno can get a big commitment from one of the players at the fifa games. They had quite a few good players.

 

[FormerCTrez]

Wishing Jana a successful surgical procedure, and recovery. It is unfortunate that this injury has occurred, but Jana‘s friends/family, coaches and teammates will rally around her. Rehabilitation will be hard, but she can, and will do it — she appears to be a fighter. And, she will be back stronger than before.

Boneyarders, sometimes the road to success can be a dangerously long, winding, even treacherous uphill battle. But once the journey is completed and the goal is achieved, we are better able to understand the ”nuances“ of the journey. Stay strong! Remain hopeful and faithful!

 

[AzzisBraids]

Perhaps it has more to do with the type of player UCONN recruits. UCONN more consistently than anyone else recruits high motor kids with elite work ethics. Geno has no tolerance for players who take a more lackadaisical approach to the game. In today's 24/7 high school bball environment, I have to think these hard working kids are more prone to injury due to overuse. The high school landscape needs to change.

These players play so much, workout so much, they do a lot. I think they love the game but rest is so important. With Jana, she was representing her country. One of the highest honors, can't blame, fault or point towards anyone. But injuries aren't even happening in game anymore, it's offseason and that's not good.

 

[cancontent]

Perhaps it has more to do with the type of player UCONN recruits. UCONN more consistently than anyone else recruits high motor kids with elite work ethics. Geno has no tolerance for players who take a more lackadaisical approach to the game. In today's 24/7 high school bball environment, I have to think these hard working kids are more prone to injury due to overuse. The high school landscape needs to change.

It's not the high school landscape itself but the culture of competitive sports as a whole (grade school, high school, AAU, etc.). The need to specialize from an early age to get an edge is a problem. This isn't an isolated issue within basketball itself. I've seen kids in soccer, football, gymnastics and tennis go through a lot of injuries due to excessive training.

We're also guilty in helping this culture become what it is. The attitude of "no days off", "mamba mentality", etc., that is celebrated exacerbates the problem. I remember an article about Chole Kitt's early enrolment and how her father talked about how she's been taking a business approach to her development. This won't change until parents are willing to take a step back and be more realistic with respect to what their children can accomplish. There are too many examples of what burn out can do to a person, going back decades but we're not learning from it.

And let's not forget there are people profiting off of this in so many areas (trainers, recruiting services, tournament organizers, AAU clubs, AAU leagues, etc.). There's too much money being made to motivate people to change the landscape. The drive for clout and money is really the largest issue here.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I wish Geno can get a big commitment from one of the players at the fifa games. They had quite a few good players.

We know that we had a coach at the event. Was the coach merely supporting Jana or possibly recruiting someone, like Juste Jocyte??

 

[GoUconn7961]

I refuse to discuss overuse and it's a moot point. Kids are gonna play in the off season.

My heart goes out to Jana. If there's any silver lining is that Stewie had the same injury in the W and look at her now.

 

[hoopsfan22]

My main fear is that she does not come back to UConn. This injury has affected me even more than Paige's and Brady's last season. I really wanted to see the team as it was supposed to be this season, with all the players on this season's roster. Now, if she stays at UConn and I am still around next season, it won't hurt so bad. I will finally get a chance to see her play. My concern about her returning is based on whether her father still wants her to play in the United States, not her transferring.

Wouldn't worry too much about this. Dad seemed happy with just the half season she spent here, plus she is an adult (or will be in two months) and can make her own decision.

 

[Ladeeeeda]

It's not the high school landscape itself but the culture of competitive sports as a whole (grade school, high school, AAU, etc.). The need to specialize from an early age to get an edge is a problem. This isn't an isolated issue within basketball itself. I've seen kids in soccer, football, gymnastics and tennis go through a lot of injuries due to excessive training.

We're also guilty in helping this culture become what it is. The attitude of "no days off", "mamba mentality", etc., that is celebrated exacerbates the problem. I remember an article about Chole Kitt's early enrolment and how her father talked about how she's been taking a business approach to her development. This won't change until parents are willing to take a step back and be more realistic with respect to what their children can accomplish. There are too many examples of what burn out can do to a person, going back decades but we're not learning from it.

And let's not forget there are people profiting off of this in so many areas (trainers, recruiting services, tournament organizers, AAU clubs, AAU leagues, etc.). There's too much money being made to motivate people to change the landscape. The drive for clout and money is really the largest issue here.

Yes, I don't think anyone thinks it is just with basketball. People's idealogies don't change unless there is a profitable reason to do so. As long as the Mamba mentality is rewarded, it will continue to be followed. Parents aren"t going to change unless they see a reason to and very few have access to information that contradicts what society is telling them. For example, many parents think that if a program has Catapult, it must be paying attention to their athletes' body health. In reality, they should be asking programs how they analyze the data from Catapult and how that data is used in the development of team and individual workouts. Getting parents to understand data analysis in this context and be on board with that type of information takes a lot of time and education.
So I would argue that the most expedient way to change thing is through altering the high school landscape (Change the rules).....so the reward is no longer there or so the path to a reward does not require playing a sport 24/7. I just do not see another starting point that is actually possible and to be honest maybe changing the high school landscape isn't possible either. The NCAA has taken baby steps to limit recruiting and events by altering the recruiting calendar and it probably needs to do more. And of course, aau organizers are fighting this tooth and nail, which isn't helping.