Injury News and Notes: Jerome Dyson and Steph Curry

Jerome Dyson underwent surgery on his right knee to repair the lateral meniscus, which will keep him out of uniform for the rest of the season. A lot of "experts" have said that losing Dyson is not going to hurt the Huskies too much. They have depth. Kemba Walker is one of the nest freshman guards in the county. Craig Austrie is a senior that has started 50-some-odd games in his career.

Let us not forget that Dyson missed nine games last season, and UConn went 8-1 in those games, playing their best basketball of the year.

But Dyson is a much different player than he was last season. As a sophomore, Dyson was coming in as the leading scorer, as the go-to guy. He was UConn's star.

During the season, however, as the team evolved, fewer and fewer plays were called for him. Hasheem Thabeet, Jeff Adrien, and AJ Price began to emerge as possible all-Big East players. Dyson was having trouble accepting a role on the team, which resulted in forced shots and lackadaisical defense.

Jerome Dyson hurt his knee trying to fight through
a screen by Kristoff Ongenaet of Syracuse.
(Photo Credit: Washington Post)

When Dyson sat out is when UConn really started to click as a "team".

But Jerome came out a completely different player with a whole new attitude this season. He relished being the defensive stopper for UConn. He thrived as their hustle guy. As a result, he got a ton of points off of run outs and offensive rebounds. But he also started to earn a reputation on a national level as one of the best defenders and best athletes that play the wing.

Kemba Walker is an excellent on-ball defender. He can harass any point guard in the country into a turnover. You want proof? Levance Fields leads the nation in assist:turnover ratio at 3.9. Last night, when Pitt was up six and Fields was trying to protect the ball and kill clock, Walker forced not one, but two turnovers by Fields.

But Walker is no where near as good a defender off the ball. He was the one that lost Fields on two straight possessions, allowing the senior two wide open looks at a three from the top of the key.

It is safe to say that Jerome Dyson would not have given Fields two looks that were that open.

Dyson brings much more to the table than just the numbers he puts up. Losing him for the season is a huge blow to the Huskies title chances.

In other injury news, Stephen Curry is off of crutches and might be ready to go on Saturday when Davidson takes on Butler in BracketBusters. Knowing from experience, putting a player on crutches after an ankle injury is a pretty common move, even if the injury is not all that serious. I would expect Curry to be in uniform come Saturday.