Why Huskies G Desmond Claude is Stepping Away From Team Indefinitely
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Washington Huskies guard Desmond Claude (1) shoots a free throw in the first half against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images [/caption]
The University of Washington men’s basketball team was without senior guard Desmond Claude for the second time in their last four games in an 80-63 loss to No. 12-ranked Michigan State on Saturday, Jan. 18, and they may be without him for the remainder of the season.
Claude, who announced via Instagram on Friday that he would be stepping away “from all on-court activities” due to a lingering ankle injury, has been the Huskies’ third-leading scorer this season (13.3 points per game).
It’s another hit to UW’s lineup in an injury-riddled season that has now seen them lose four of their last five games since beginning the bulk of their Big Ten schedule. The Huskies sit at 10-8 overall and 2-5 in Big Ten games with plenty of the season remaining.
When asked about Claude stepping away from the team following the Huskies’ loss to Michigan State, head coach Danny Sprinkle offered little explanation.
“Obviously, everyone saw his post last night where he says he’s injured,” Sprinkle said. “[The] University of Washington, we have elite student healthcare. It’s one of the tops in the entire world. It’s centered around every student athlete being taken care of, not just every student athlete, every student on campus, and we’re here for him. That’s pretty much all I can say right now.”
Sprinkle was pushed further about the timeline for Claude and whether he would return this season.
“That’s all I can comment on right now,” he added.
Desmond Claude injury timeline
According to his post, Claude suffered a Grade 3 ankle sprain during a preseason practice that resulted in “two completely torn ligaments in my ankle as well as identifying a third partially torn ligament.”
It was supposed to be a 12-week recovery period, but Claude and the Huskies’ staff decided to accelerate that timeline to get him back after five weeks of “aggressive physical therapy.”
As a result, Claude missed the first four games of the season and made his debut in UW’s double overtime victory against Southern University on Nov. 18. Claude played in every game through the Jan. 7 loss to No. 5 Purdue before missing the contest against Ohio State on Jan. 11.
Claude was on the court for just eight minutes in the Jan. 14 loss to No. 4 Michigan, and he announced he was stepping away from the team two days later.
“While my recovery initially seemed to exceed expectations, over the past several weeks, I’ve been playing through unbearable pain, swelling and have also suffered a subsequent additional injury to my knee,” Claude said in his post.
In Claude’s absence, the Huskies will be even more reliant on freshman forward Hannes Steinbach and sophomore guard Zoom Diallo to carry the offensive load.
UW recently got sophomore guard Wesley Yates III back after he missed nearly a month with a wrist injury, which is a positive. But this Huskies squad can’t seem to catch a break.
