UConn center Amida Brimah will miss the next 6-8 weeks as he undergoes surgery to fix a broken finger, the school announced on Tuesday.
Brimah sat out UConn’s win on Sunday over UMass-Lowell with a separate injury and the Huskies appeared to struggle in his absence. Now, with the junior out for the better part of what’s left of the regular season, UConn will have to adjust.
“Amida is one of the best defensive players in the country, so obviously not having him has a big impact on us,” UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. “But you never know when somebody can get hurt, which is why everybody always has to be ready to play.
“Everyone will have to lift their level of play — the big men, of course, but our guards, as well will have to play better defense on the perimeter without Amida in there. We look at it as an opportunity for somebody to step up and have an impact on the game and the program. And I believe every player on this team has the capability to do that.”
For perspective, six weeks from today is Feb. 2. UConn’s next game after that would be at Memphis with a little more than half the conference slate remaining. If you want to be conservative about his comeback, eight weeks from today is Feb. 16, smack in the middle of a homestand against Tulsa and SMU — two potential NCAA Tournament-quality teams.
Maybe the silver lining for UConn fans is that this dramatically increases the probability that Brimah returns to Storrs for his senior year.
Either way, this is a crushing blow to UConn’s 2015-16 hopes. On Sunday, the Huskies went with a smaller starting lineup, slotting in Jalen Adams alongside Sterling Gibbs and Rodney Purvis, with Shonn Miller playing the 5. Adams had a rough game, so perhaps it wasn’t the best test for a near all-guard-everything lineup.
But even if Ollie opts to stay with what amounts to Meghan’s dream lineup, Brimah’s absence puts serious pressure on guys like Phil Nolan, Steve Enoch and Kentan Facey. At least one will have to emerge as a consistent contributor, particularly defensively. Otherwise, UConn becomes a whole lot less imposing inside. Brimah’s interior presence has been key for a team that does not force a ton of turnovers and instead makes opponents take lower-percentage shots (leading the country in block rate hasn’t hurt either).
Ollie will get a chance to play with his lineups on Wednesday when the Huskies take on Central Connecticut in their final game before the schedule picks up. UConn then visits Texas after Christmas and dives into conference play with a game at Tulane on Jan. 2.
Crap.
Just give him one of those club arms they give the football players