UConn basketball will be facing off against Illinois in the Final Four, and both teams are hoping to be at full strength for a chance to get to the championship game. For most of the tournament, Silas Demary Jr. has been battling an injury that he suffered against St. John's in the Big East title game, but he's still playing and making plays for the Huskies.
The good news for UConn is that Demary is getting back to full form, according to Dan Hurley.
“This guy played at probably 65% the first weekend versus UCLA,” Hurley said via ESPN's Pete Thamel. “He probably got to 75% in the Sweet 16/Elite Eight game, and I think he's much better this week.
“I think he's got a chance to play at like 90% physically for the Illinois game, which we're going to need all of that.”
Demary wears a boot on his ankle after games, and he recently noted that he's getting closer to 100%.
“I think once I start getting up and down, I start to feel more comfortable,” Demary said.
Those plays that Demary is making for UConn despite being injured have helped them get to the Final Four. He grabbed the key steal that led to Braylon Mullins' three-pointer that got them the victory over Duke.
“He's made pretty heroic effort to get to this point,” UConn assistant Luke Murray said. “I think there were some real questions whether he was going to be able to play at all. To sort of work through this and stay sharp because it's hard to not be taking live reps, not being involved in a lot of what we're doing in practice and some of the game planning and then find yourself out there on game night and have an expectation of being a leader for us.”
