Alex O’Connell Injury

[Newton_14]

What, no vigil thread yet? 😀
Per the interwebs Alex suffered a fracture of the orbital bone. He is out, obviously for the rest of the Canada Trip, but thankfully is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for Kentucky.

Discuss here. Glad it wasn’t worse!

[Bob Green]

Discuss here. Glad it wasn’t worse!

I didn't see it live but I did see a still photo and AOC probably should not have challenged that dunk. Hopefully this isn't one of those injuries that linger.

[IrishDevil]

What, no vigil thread yet? ��
Per the interwebs Alex suffered a fracture of the orbital bone. He is out, obviously for the rest of the Canada Trip, but thankfully is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for Kentucky.

Discuss here. Glad it wasn’t worse!

Discussion in the Canada thread was that he would fully recover and "be available this season." Do we have a link saying he will be ready for UK?

[Newton_14]

Discussion in the Canada thread was that he would fully recover and "be available this season." Do we have a link saying he will be ready for UK?

I am going by a tweet my daughter saw on her phone. We are seated side by side on a long road trip at the moment. I will search to see if I can find clarification on when exactly he is expected to be ready. My interpretation was start of regular season.


Edit: the below was not directed at you Irish . Sorry if it appeared to be that way.After reading it myself I decided I needed to clarify that.

Burying everything in that one thread is not good in my opinion. We needed this thread and a separate thread for each of the three games to maximize member participation and visibility.

[Saratoga2]

Discussion in the Canada thread was that he would fully recover and "be available this season." Do we have a link saying he will be ready for UK?

I would imagine he can continue conditioning shortly and do shooting drills, etc. The contact portion of practice is what he should forego. Maybe he can do some extra eating and put on a few pounds in the next 6 weeks.

[Newton_14]

I would imagine he can continue conditioning shortly and do shooting drills, etc. The contact portion of practice is what he should forego. Maybe he can do some extra eating and put on a few pounds in the next 6 weeks.

I second the motion to have the young man spending this down time at the training table getting in extra reps with the fork and spoon.

They can also send in a good barber to take care of that hair!! 😎

[UrinalCake]

DukeMBB posted this picture of the team at dinner today. Alex appears to have a pretty big black eye, but no patch or mask or anything.


link
(I am linking rather than embedding because this board always seems to reduce the resolution on images when I attach them)

[HereBeforeCoachK]

I didn't see it live but I did see a still photo and AOC probably should not have challenged that dunk. Hopefully this isn't one of those injuries that linger.

I saw a video clip of it, and no, he had no chance of making anything good happen in that situation. The guy was 7-2, on the move, with long arms...and Alex was off to the side. Definitely should have let discretion be the better part of valor in that situation.

[gep]

DukeMBB posted this picture of the team at dinner today. Alex appears to have a pretty big black eye, but no patch or mask or anything.


link
(I am linking rather than embedding because this board always seems to reduce the resolution on images when I attach them)

Didn’t Singler have one of those? And is that AOC’s thumbs up?

[thedukelamere]

Didn’t Singler have one of those? And is that AOC’s thumbs up?

Unless Tre has a 9 foot wingspan, that's AOC's thumbs up

Also, thank goodness AOC is seated where he is, otherwise ESPN would have run a headline about how our team eats at segregated tables... Already saw a couple of comments about it online.

[mattman91]

Unless Tre has a 9 foot wingspan, that's AOC's thumbs up

Also, thank goodness AOC is seated where he is, otherwise ESPN would have run a headline about how our team eats at segregated tables... Already saw a couple of comments about it online.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that.

[SilkyJ]

I didn't see it live but I did see a still photo and AOC probably should not have challenged that dunk. Hopefully this isn't one of those injuries that linger.

This is only tangentially related, but I saw it live and and AOC was totally fine to challenge that dunk. He amd athletic and went up and made an effort without fouling, which is what you are supposed to do. (Coach K wouldn’t want our guys to be matadors anyway...runs counter to our defensive philosophy)

My issue is that the opponent swung his left arm out to fend off Alex, which is a blatant offensive foul and NEVER gets called. Its one of my pet peeves with college refs and I find it immensely frustrating. Guys go up with one hand and swing their elbows and arms wildly with their off hand to fend off a defender. Defenders get hit in the face as a result and it can be dangerous. I don’t understand why that isn’t called an offensive foul more often, but what I’ve come to realize as I’ve watched more NBA games over the years is that college refs are really bad in comparison. It’s sad, and when factor in that kids only get 5 fouls in college it feels to me like the refs have way more of an impact than in the NBA.

/rant

[HereBeforeCoachK]

This is only tangentially related, but I saw it live and and AOC was totally fine to challenge that dunk.

/rant

And what was the possible positive outcome?
HINT: there was none.

[SilkyJ]

And what was the possible positive outcome?
HINT: there was none.

LoL. What a silly, obnoxious, and dead wrong statement. Should we never challenge shots if we can’t block them? His presence could have caused the shooter to adjust in mid flight, possibly take his eye off the rim, etc. many shots are altered due to a presence like that. In fact he did adjust from having two hands on the ball to having one hand, making it POSSIBLE (your word) he could have missed.

I mean, should we just not play defense or go up for rebounds in traffic during these exhibition games? Using your logic I’m guessing you would say we shouldn’t even play these games given them injury risk. That’s a potentially reasonable argument, kind of like not wanting to play ur best players in football during preseason. Of course the “potential positive” is that you get more reps against decent competition, gel as a team, etc. You also build habits, which is a Coach K-ism. If you play matador defense now, you build a bad habit of not challenging shots when it matters.

So what would you suggest AOC have done? Just not challenge shots? Should we not take charges in preseason given how much physical contact there is? Those seem like quick ways to earn pine time under K.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

And what was the possible positive outcome?
HINT: there was none.

How do you feel about players who keep running on defense when a player is way out front on a fast break?

How about jumping out on a shooter with your hands in the air?

Diving after a loose ball that's going out of bounds?

[HereBeforeCoachK]

LoL. What a silly, obnoxious, and dead wrong statement. Should we never challenge shots if we can’t block them? .

It's always a sign of weakness when you lead your argument with a straw position...the implication that I said "never" is frankly a lie. Maybe you should ask that question of someone who said 'never challenge.' I did not. Moreover, I would say it is rare when a play should not be challenged...and that this was one of those rare plays. Alex was out of position, is 9 inches shorter than this guy, and the guy had the ball on the other side. There was nothing Alex could have done, period.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

How do you feel about players who keep running on defense when a player is way out front on a fast break?

How about jumping out on a shooter with your hands in the air?

Diving after a loose ball that's going out of bounds?

When there is a chance of a positive outcome, always jump, dive, chase, etc. This would be analogous to hitting one's head on the scorers table diving for a loose ball they had no chance of getting to.

The guy has 9 inches on Alex, he had the inside lane, he had the ball in the opposite hand. No chance. Had the player been of Alex's size, or had he used his left hand, or were Alex more in the driving lane, totally different scenario.

[LasVegas]

When there is a chance of a positive outcome, always jump, dive, chase, etc. This would be analogous to hitting one's head on the scorers table diving for a loose ball they had no chance of getting to.

The guy has 9 inches on Alex, he had the inside lane, he had the ball in the opposite hand. No chance. Had the player been of Alex's size, or had he used his left hand, or were Alex more in the driving lane, totally different scenario.

Even a little bit of a challenge can lead to a missed dunk. Come on now.

[JasonEvans]

Also, thank goodness AOC is seated where he is, otherwise ESPN would have run a headline about how our team eats at segregated tables... Already saw a couple of comments about it online.

Yeah, but Joey Baker and Zion are giving the same hand signal, which means they must be close

Not saying it is you, but people who only see skin color are missing a lot of what goes into making up who a person is. Frankly, based on where they went to school and what kind of socio-economic experience they had growing up, guys like Besser (Germantown Friends School) and Robinson (San Antonio Christian Academy) have a heck of a lot more in common with Joey Baker (Trinity Christian School) than they do with Jordan Goldwire (Milton high school) or Marques Bolden (DeSoto high school).

-Jason "google the enrollments and student body composition of those schools if you don't get what I am talking about" Evans

[CDu]

Yeah, but Joey Baker and Zion are giving the same hand signal, which means they must be close

Not saying it is you, but people who only see skin color are missing a lot of what goes into making up who a person is. Frankly, based on where they went to school and what kind of socio-economic experience they had growing up, guys like Besser (Germantown Friends School) and Robinson (San Antonio Christian Academy) have a heck of a lot more in common with Joey Baker (Trinity Christian School) than they do with Jordan Goldwire (Milton high school) or Marques Bolden (DeSoto high school).

-Jason "google the enrollments and student body composition of those schools if you don't get what I am talking about" Evans

Minor quibble: O’Connell is the Milton grad. Goldwire was a Norcross grad. Norcross is more in line with your point than Milton.