Boatright in a rush to return, and other UConn news
Senior Ryan Boatright is not 100 percent healthy.
But don't expect his sprained left ankle to keep him on the sidelines for Friday's non-conference game against Yale in Storrs.
At least not if he can help it.
"I feel like I can play tomorrow," said Boatright after participating in his first full practice since suffering the injury late in Sunday's loss to Texas. "But it's a game time decision. I want to make the best decision for my health."
Boatright has never missed a game due to an injury during his career. UConn's backcourt is hurting right now, with Boatright, Rodney Purvis (high left ankle sprain) and Omar Calhoun (MCL sprain) working their way back from injuries.
Purvis practiced Thursday, but Calhoun didn't. It was a recovery day for Calhoun, who practiced the previous two days.
The Huskies (3-2) have lost two straight.
"I'm in a rush to get back just because I love basketball," Boatright said. "I want to be out there and get that win. We've dropped two straight and it's frustrating. I hate to lose and my teammates hate to lose."
Some other UConn news:
-- Purvis is taking a cautious approach with his injury. He limped around in practice but went full speed, according to Ollie.
"I'm just doing as much rehab as I can so I can get back on the court, "Purvis said. "A high ankle sprain is something that you've got to try to let heal. ... I'm just trying to be smart with it."
-- Calhoun has yet to play a game this season. He's been sidelined since late October.
" The doctor has already cleared him, so it's just mentally if Omar is ready to get back on the court," Ollie said.
-- Ollie talked about his team's positives and negatives, starting with the latter.
"We definitely need to get better shooting the ball," Ollie said. "Everybody knows that the last couple of games we've struggled from the 3-point line. We'd like to get our assist-to-turnover ratio up."
"... But I do like our team, how they grind out possession after possession. We're playing solid defense. One positive, we're rebounding the basketball."
-- The Huskies will be even a bigger rebounding force once sophomore center Amida Brimah consistently does his part on the boards. He had just two rebounds in 30 minutes versus Texas.
"We want Amida's rebounds to go up," Ollie said. "He can't play 30 minutes and get two rebounds. He's going to have to start rebounding the basketball better. That's going to make us even a more dangerous rebounding team."
-- Junior college transfer Sam Cassell Jr. is searching for his jump shot. He's converted just 9 of 35 from the field, or 25.7 percent.
"He's missed some shots that I know he can make," Ollie said. "He's coming in here and doing extra work. I think those shots will start falling for him."
-- Tonight will be UConn's last game until Dec. 14. The Huskies will be on exam break.
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.