INDIANAPOLIS — UConn head coach Dan Hurley said guard Solo Ball is uncertain for the national championship game against Michigan on Monday. Ball begged to differ.
Ball was held out of practice Sunday and wore a walking boot to the press conference 30 hours before the final game of the NCAA Tournament tips off Monday.
Come Sunday night, Ball did not appear on the initial player availability report for the title game.
Hurley said he was unaware of how Ball was injured. Trainers said he was hurt early in the Huskies’ 71-62 victory over Illinois.
“I got through it with adrenaline, but it happened in the first half. I think my foot got caught with T (Tarris) Reed with the screen and it kind of just happened,” Ball said Sunday. “But I’m feeling all right right now. Just leaving it up to the medical staff. I’m doing everything I can to prepare for tomorrow.”
After Silas Demary Jr. said in the press conference “I know I’m playing,” through an ankle injury, Ball followed suit.
“Just being in the national championship game, just got to prepare the exact same way we’ve prepared all season,” he said, adding the decision is in the hands of UConn’s trainers. “So bump in the road. But, I mean, still going to play.”
Hurley initially said he wasn’t positive Ball would be able to have an MRI exam on Easter Sunday but was assured a hospital would definitely see him.
“I think we’ll see whether this turns into — it’s going to be tough to get an MRI on Easter, on a Sunday. I don’t know what the hospitals are like in Indiana. Hospitals stay open. Even on Easter, huh? OK,” Hurley said.
Ball contributed 13 points and two assists in 28 minutes during the win over the Fighting Illini. The 6-foot-4 guard is averaging 12.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 38 games (all starts) this season for UConn, which will vie for its third national title in four years Monday.
If Ball is unable to play, it likely would put more of the onus on freshman guard Braylon Mullins. Malachi Smith and Jayden Ross likely will see additional playing time as well.
Michigan star and Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg also did not appear on the initial injury report. Lendeborg missed much of the Wolverines’ Final Four win over Arizona after spraining his left MCL and left ankle during the first half.
–Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media
