RSS
Inspirational recovery
A decent amount of the press conference after UConn's win over Louisville focused on the condition of junior guard Tiffany Hayes, who was knocked out of the game in the first minute with a mild concussion.
But when it comes to recoveries, it's hard to top what North Carolina's Jessica Breland has accomplished. The 6-foot-3 senior missed all of last season with cancer to become the Tar Heels' second-leading scorer and top rebounder.
With UConn playing at UNC on Monday night, I asked UConn coach Geno Auriemma about Breland's comeback and how much inspiration her teammates' can draw from her return to the court.
"That should be an inspiration to every kid playing basketball and every person who is not even involved in sports," Auriemma said. "I think it goes to show you that part of getting well, part of becoming healthy in life is your outlook, how positive you are and the kind of attitude you have. Obviously she has a tremendously positive personality, has a passion to want to get back and play basketball and was able to do it. I think there are players who are playing today if they played with half that positive mentality and that kind of passion would be much better players. I talk about that with (injured junior guard) Caroline (Doty) all the time that how much her approach and how much her enthusiasm for wanting to play, how much that speeds up your recovery no matter what it is you are trying to overcome whether it is a knee injury or whether it is a life-threatening disease."
Monday's game will continue a long tradition of the Huskies playing a top opponent on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Maya Moore was asked about the significance of playing on that day.
"I see it as a perfect opportunity to play on a stage that when he was alive, wasn't there for not only female athletes but black student athletes so I see it as a celebration of where our country has come," Moore said. "A big reason is because of his passion and his selflessness investing his life for human rights so if you think about it that way, it is pretty cool to create that and why not just go out on the court, give everything and play with passion and excitement."
But when it comes to recoveries, it's hard to top what North Carolina's Jessica Breland has accomplished. The 6-foot-3 senior missed all of last season with cancer to become the Tar Heels' second-leading scorer and top rebounder.
With UConn playing at UNC on Monday night, I asked UConn coach Geno Auriemma about Breland's comeback and how much inspiration her teammates' can draw from her return to the court.
"That should be an inspiration to every kid playing basketball and every person who is not even involved in sports," Auriemma said. "I think it goes to show you that part of getting well, part of becoming healthy in life is your outlook, how positive you are and the kind of attitude you have. Obviously she has a tremendously positive personality, has a passion to want to get back and play basketball and was able to do it. I think there are players who are playing today if they played with half that positive mentality and that kind of passion would be much better players. I talk about that with (injured junior guard) Caroline (Doty) all the time that how much her approach and how much her enthusiasm for wanting to play, how much that speeds up your recovery no matter what it is you are trying to overcome whether it is a knee injury or whether it is a life-threatening disease."
Monday's game will continue a long tradition of the Huskies playing a top opponent on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Maya Moore was asked about the significance of playing on that day.
"I see it as a perfect opportunity to play on a stage that when he was alive, wasn't there for not only female athletes but black student athletes so I see it as a celebration of where our country has come," Moore said. "A big reason is because of his passion and his selflessness investing his life for human rights so if you think about it that way, it is pretty cool to create that and why not just go out on the court, give everything and play with passion and excitement."
Labels: Geno Auriemma, Maya Moore, Tiffany Hayes
posted by Jim Fuller at
11:18 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home