Men’s basketball needs to fill in void left by T.J. Leaf’s injury
Freshman T.J. Leaf is questionable for UCLA’s regular season finale against Washington State, after suffering a left ankle sprain against Washington on Wednesday night. The forward hopes to be back for the Pac-12 tournament the following week. (Michael Zshornack/Assistant Photo editor)
By TuAnh Dam
March 2, 2017 8:26 p.m.
Even with freshman forward T.J. Leaf’s left ankle injury, coach Steve Alford tried to keep the mood in the locker room light.
“I told him five minutes, two (points), one (rebound) and one (assist) – that’s not a bad line in five minutes,” Alford said after No. 3 UCLA’s (27-3, 14-3 Pac-12) 98-66 win over Washington. “We’re having fun with him and that’s who he is.”
[Related: Bruins defeat Huskies in 98-66 blowout despite T.J. Leaf injury]
It’ll be more fun though, especially in postseason play, if they can get Leaf back on the court.
The Bruins have just under two weeks until the NCAA Tournament, where they’re projected to be the third seed in the Midwest region per ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.
But Leaf, who is the team’s second-leading scorer and one of the catalysts in its turnaround season, will likely be out for the conference finale against Washington State.
Leaf’s father, Brad Leaf, said in an email to the Los Angeles Times that T.J. Leaf, who is listed as day-to-day, was hoping to be available for the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas next week.
Immediately after the game, Alford said that T.J. Leaf did not have any broken bones or injuries that indicated anything beyond a sprain, but that the staff would wait for further information while the freshman was being evaluated over the next 48 hours.
Ankle sprains can take anywhere from one to two weeks of recovery for grade one sprains and all the way up to several months for severe grade three cases.
According to his father, T.J. Leaf “knows what he’s dealing with” after suffering through several bad ankle sprains in high school.
No matter how T.J. Leaf and his ankle feel, the Bruins say they can’t rely on just his big play to win game.
“We’re not sure about his status for the upcoming game so we’ll have to adapt and it’s next man up,” said senior guard Bryce Alford. “This is the most tournament-ready of any team I’ve been on. We just have to continue to work hard and take care of the next couple of games.”
Last night, it was Alford who knocked down eight 3s from beyond the arc.
Injuries, even to a star player, won’t be the end-all and be-all for the Bruins if players continue stepping up.
Tyus Edney, now the director of operations for UCLA men’s basketball, went down with a wrist injury in the semifinals of the 1995 NCAA Tournament.
Without their starting point guard, the Bruins, led by back-up point guard Cameron Dollar, went on to win the championship game 89-78 over Arkansas.
This year’s team still has its star point guard Lonzo Ball, who finished Wednesday’s game against the Huskies with 19 points, eight assists and four steals, but will need to find someone to fill T.J. Leaf’s 16.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game average.
“It’s tough to lose him but he’ll be all right,” Ball said. “Now is the time for other guys (to) step up.”
