I think it's more the reverse. Azzi, after extensive examination, did not have another procedure performed on her, which meant the clinicians found no added structural damage. Any procedure would have meant she's lost for the season. Instead the doctors put her in a brace to rest the knee and said they'd reevaluate in two weeks. That was on Jan 20th. I think Azzi will be back some time after the SC game. Ducharme is in a far different boat. Her head and neck problems, before the concussion, were proving difficult to diagnose. The doctors recommended rest and pretty much left it up to the player to demonstrate when she was ready. Then she came back and banged her head pretty severely again. Now all the pieces are thrown in the air. No one knows when she'll return, and the clinicians have given no timetable for reevaluation. Ducharme is a really talented player with fine shooting skills. Her and Azzi in the lineup would really stretch the defense and open up the passing lanes. Ducharme is also better at getting to the rim than any player on UConn other than Paige. Further, when Azzi played Geno had her bring up the ball because she adjusted well to the pressure on her at the arc. Better than Nika. Also with a full lineup at the beginning of the season Geno pressed full court which resulted in many more easy baskets. That option is now gone. Worse, Geno has had to restrict his offense because he doesn't have the corner shooters he had in Ducharme and Azzi, and he can't run his triangle variations. As I said, the UConn coaches have been playing this shell game of accentuating their strengths, limiting what the defenses see, and hiding their weaknesses.
