The Daily Campus

Issue date: 3/21/08 Section: March Madness

Media Credit: Dan Gindraux Mel Thomas fires up a 3-pointer earlier this year.

Three months ago, Kalana Greene went down with a season-ending ACL injury. A month later, so did Mel Thomas.

But for the No. 1 women's basketball team, the injuries gave them a new motivation, something else worth playing for - each other.

"I think on days when some of our guys were tired or didn't feel like going, you look over to the side and you see Kalana and Mel doing their rehab just dying wishing they were at practice," said associate head coach Chris Dailey. "I think it changes the way you approach things and you understand that injuries are a part of it and it can happen like this. Your career, your year, could be over. You need to take every opportunity to take advantage of it."

While the focus has been on freshman Maya Moore's standout performance on the court and the national title that the team's seniors don't have, the two players have sat on the sidelines taking it all in.

First, it was the heartbreaking loss to Rutgers in early February, the only one during the regular season for the Huskies. Then, it was an eight-game winning streak to close out the season and a regular season title captured in the season-finale against the Scarlet Knights at the XL Center. Last week came the Big East tournament title.

Every step of the way, Thomas and Greene were on their feet or right behind the bench, cheering and screaming in excitement at their team's performance. That involvement - despite the inability to actually play the game that they have dedicated years to - is the "best thing that you could ask them to do," according to head coach Geno Auriemma.

"They've got unbelievable schedules in the training room," he said. "So that's kind of like their practice time, but they're involved. A lot of times when that happens to kids, they get separated. But they stay involved and they're a big part of what we do."

To Dailey, there has been a bright side to the course of events that have transpired - the players have been given a different perspective of the game, an opportunity to learn a new way to see basketball. Watching the game is something that she said she thinks every player could benefit from because they get a coach's view.

Continued...

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