Abdul Gaddy is confirmed to have a torn ACL in his left knee. He will be out for a year. He has played in more games than are allowed for a medical redshirt so he will only have two years of eligibility after this season.
So what does this mean for our team? The most obvious and glaring answer is a drop in our teams passing ability. Isaiah has played great over the last two weeks and really stepped up his performances as a scorer and a passer. This will help fill the hole left by Gaddy, who is one of the best passers and point guards in the nation.
While Gaddy was not a prolific scorer, he was a tall guard who could drive the lane and score over defenders. He also had a good outside shot that was especially dangerous if left open. He has the best assist to turnover ratio in the Pac-10, averaging 3.8 assists per game and 1.2 turnovers per game.
He had not shown up much, in terms of points and assists, in the last few games and the Huskies were able to cope. This bodes well for the Dawgs as they will have to do without Gaddy the remainder of the season. Thank goodness Isaiah has stepped up as a passer and a leader, otherwise we could be much worse off.
What other implications does this injury entail?
Isaiah will likely stay at his 30-35 minutes per game and Overton will most definitely see more playing time. Could Overton average 30-35 per game as well? He very well could. We will need Overton to supply some relieve to Isaiah, but he will also see play time along side him. Gaddy was averaging 23 minutes per game and Overton was averaging 21. Those 23 minutes will need to be made up. The most obvious candidate will be whatever player starts in his place (more on this in a bit). I could see Overton playing 25-30 a game with Gaddy out. This leaves 13-18 minutes up for grabs.
Who could start in Abdul's place? Overton is a likely first guess, but in my opinion the Huskies would be better served with Overton continuing to come off the bench to supply some relief and defensive pressure on tired guards. The other likely choices are one of the three bench, wing players.
Scott Suggs could very well reenter the starting line up. He has some good ball handling skills, he has developed his driving game, and he has a great outside shot that has been hitting consistently.
Terrence Ross is another solid choice. He can handle the ball extremely well, though his passing is not the best. He is able to drive, pull up, take jumpers, and shoot from range. With Ross really starting to break out it would not be far fetched at all for him to get the nod from Romar.
C.J. Wilcox is the fourth, final, and least likely option to start in Gaddy's place. He is already questionable with a Staph infection in his hip, but once he heals I still don't know if I would start him. He is a solid defender, shoots well, and can handle the ball decently, but he hasn't shown the consistency to be given a starting position. He missed some open shots in big games, which to me reads like a freshman not quite ready for the big stage. It's not a knock against him, just how I see things.
One could argue Darnell could start again, but that is extremely unlikely if not impossible. With our big men already experiencing foul troubles, putting Darnell in at the start along with MBA and Aziz is just asking for us to lose.
What does this mean for the rest of our season? Personally, I don't think this will terribly affect us. While Gaddy was and is an excellent player, we have a lot of depth. Sure we lose our starting point guard, but Isaiah has been playing well as a point guard and Overton is improving as well by decreasing his turnovers. What we lose out on is a calm and collected mind, a great passer and play maker, and another talented body to tear up the opposition.
Does his injury mean we won't be able to crack the Sweet 16? No. Plain and simple. If this was MBA or Aziz I would say yes or highly likely that we would struggle. I think we are deep enough at the guard and wing positions that we won't be highly affected by his lose.
It's a bigger blow to Gaddy's career than our success as a team. Isaiah, Overton, and the rest of the team will need to step up their game to fill his shoes.
Get well Abdul. We look forward to you taking 2011-2012 by storm.
Link:
http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/010511aab.html
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/huskymensbasketballblog/2013850730_abdul_gaddy_out.html
http://www.montlakemadness.com/gaddy-torn-acl-out-indefinitely/
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/huskymensbasketballblog/2013854910_uw_reaction_aft.html#continue
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