Assistant Sports Editor
The words "osteochondral defect of the femoral condyle" may not mean much to most members of the university community, but to junior center Tracy Connor and the rest of the Demon Deacon women's basketball squad last season, they meant a great deal.
The term describes a lack of cushioning experienced by one of the bones in Connor's right knee, and thus the main reason why the center's phenomenal play for the Deacons was limited to only 14 games last season.
The knee ailment, first noticed last season when a minor injury took an abnormally long time to mend, will likely continue to exert some negative effects on Connor's performance. However, Connor's probable reduced effectiveness will not present much of a loss for the Deacons if she can continue to perform at the level she did after returning last season.
Connor's absence was especially important because of what she was able to accomplish for the Deacons on the court as a freshman two seasons ago, when she was the ACC Freshman of the Year and earned Rookie of the Week honors nine times.
In her debut season, Connor averaged 20.6 points a game and 11.3 rebounds per contest. She also broke team records during her freshman season for points and rebounds in a season (576 and 316 respectively) and most rebounds in a game (22).
Then, after redshirting the 1993-94 season with a stress fracture in her foot, Connor arrived back on the scene in 1995 and transformed the Deacons from a team that was just shy of mediocre into one that was highly respectable.
When the 6-3 center played with the Deacons last season, the team went 7-7 overall, and 4-3 in the ACC. Overall, the team finished at 11-15 on the season and 4-12 within the conference. These numbers alone are enough to solidify Connor's importance to Demon Deacon hoops.
However, in her limited playing time the junior provided a multitude of other statistical demonstrations of her worth. Foremost among the proof of her offensive and defensive contributions to the team are her scoring and rebounding averages. In her 14 games last season, Connor averaged 16.4 points and 9.0 rebounds a game.
Though the numbers last year were a slight drop-off from her freshman season, they were nonetheless the highest averages on the team in both categories.
During the stretch after her return, Connor led the team in scoring eight times and rebounds 10 times.
Although enough scar tissue has formed in Connor's knee to provide it with some degree of cushioning, it is likely that the junior will not be able to play to the level she established in the 1993-94 season. However, there seems little question that Connor is a remarkably valuable asset to the Demon Deacons, whether or not she plays at 100 percent.
Clearly, a good deal of the Deacons' potential success this season hinges on Connor's right knee. If the junior can avoid the injury problems that have plagued her the past two years, the 1995-96 season could be a promising one for Deacon basketball.