Sue Bird sat in a folding chair to watch the University of Connecticut women's basketball team practice on Wednesday, with crutches by her side and a disappointed look on her face. Bird tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during a drill on Monday, and the freshman will miss the rest of the season.
It was an aggravating development for Bird, who was the starting point guard for the top-ranked Huskies following a phenomenal career at Christ the King High School in Queens. It was just as aggravating for UConn, which lost a critical player to injury for the fourth time in the last three years.
Shea Ralph had the same injury to her right knee during the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament on March 15, 1997, and in a summer workout less than six months later. Nykesha Sales tore her Achilles' tendon on Feb. 21, 1998, and, aside from a controversial staged appearance to score 2 points and eclipse the school's career scoring record, did not play again.
Because the school is taking final exams, Bird remained on campus and will most likely undergo surgery after Christmas. Bird, who was averaging 5.1 points and 3.1 assists a game for the 8-0 Huskies, was injured when she stopped to shoot a jumper in a 3-on-2 drill and her knee buckled. Since Bird had played in more than 20 percent of UConn's 28 scheduled games, it is unlikely that she will be eligible for a medical hardship waiver to retain the year of eligibility.
Without Bird, who was one of the best high school players in the nation when she averaged 16.3 points, 7.3 assists and 8.5 steals for Christ the King, Auriemma will experiment at point guard with Ralph and Keirsten Walters, a freshman who is averaging 3 points and 1.9 assists.
While Ralph, a junior who is averaging 16.5 points and is accustomed to being a shooting guard or small forward, is more experienced and more aggressive than Walters, Walters is quicker and is a better ball handler. Walters played more minutes than Bird (24-11) in UConn's 91-51 victory over St. John's last Sunday. Still, losing Bird has already had an impact.