Getting in the right place
Tennessee transfer Westbrook finds better fit at UConn
Much has happened since Evina Westbrook announced she was transferring to UConn on May 10, 2019. So much, in fact, that she wondered at one point this summer if she would ever get to play for the Huskies.
The former Tennessee star, who was forced to sit out last season after the NCAA denied her waiver request, has very much been looking forward to getting back to doing what she loves.
“I’m excited as anyone just to get out there and put a jersey on instead of just in pictures,” she said earlier this month. “I don’t think it’ll hit me until, well, I don’t know when it will hit me.”
The college basketball season is slated to begin Nov. 25. Forgive Westbrook if she’s still getting used to her new reality. She’s been through a lot on a personal level — a contentious waiver battle, two knee surgeries — but hasn’t wavered in her determination to return for the Huskies.
“She wants an opportunity to get back on the court and remind people who she is, 100 percent,” her mother, Eva, said.
THE WRONG PLACE TO THE RIGHT PLACE
Westbrook’s initial waiver was rejected on Nov. 1. UConn appealed the decision, only to receive the same denial 12 days later in a last- ditch effort to secure her eligibility for the 2019- 20 season.
Athletic director Dave Benedict and the coaching staff broke the news to Westbrook during a meeting at the team hotel in Nashville, Tenn. Teammates waited outside the meeting to console Westbrook, who was taken aback by the NCAA’s ruling.
“She was ready to play,” Eva said. “Everything was a go. She had her jersey. She was upset. We were all surprised and upset. In
my mind, too, I thought, why wouldn’t they accept the appeal? But what can you do?”
Hours later, after a 64- 51 victory over Vanderbilt, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma sounded off on the ruling, and he ripped rival Tennessee in the process. Auriemma delivered a scathing critique of the Lady Vols’ culture under former head coach Holly Warlick, saying “a lot of campuses should shut down their programs” if what was happening at Tennessee was normal. He also took aim at Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer for not doing more to support Westbrook’s case.
“A kid’s in an environment that’s not necessarily healthy, an environment that, if you knew what the environment was, which I can’t say, you would not want your kid in that environment,” Auriemma said. “And the athletic director there knows it, but he’s not going to support her leaving, which would have helped us a little bit.”
Both Auriemma and Westbrook have repeatedly declined to reveal what was so troubling about the environment at Tennessee. Eva offered few specifics of her own, but did say there were multiple times that she feared for her daughter’s well- being.
“There was a few times where I had to make unexpected trips there because we were so worried about her,” said Eva, who lives in Salem, Ore. “I literally had to go home, grab some stuff, get on the plane and go see her. That’s hard as a parent. She needed me. It was hard. And then leaving her was extremely hard. Leaving her and missing her is one thing, leaving her and being worried about her, worried about something that’s going to happen, that’s a completely different ballgame. It was really, really, really hard.”
Westbrook was able to practice, but couldn’t play in games or travel with the Huskies. Teammates kept her involved, though, sending her funny videos or messages of encouragement from the road.
“She was upset, but we knew she was in the right place,” Eva said. “The wrong place didn’t work. Her having to sit, we can live with that.”
REHABBING IN STORRS
UConn’s season ended abruptly in March when the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to coronavirus concerns. Over the next two weeks, students packed up their belongings and moved out of their dorms as the school transitioned to online- only classes.
But not Westbrook, who chose instead to stay in Storrs to rehab from left knee surgery that took place in December. It was her second procedure on the knee in six months; the first being microfracture surgery.
“That’s where she needed to be because with everything shutting down, she told me she wasn’t going to come home until she got cleared to play,” Eva said. “She let us know right away, ‘ You’re not going to see me until I’m cleared.’ ”
The normally bustling campus was practically deserted, but the gym remained open. Westbrook was in there routinely — sometimes to work out, other times just to dribble a basketball and clear her mind from the day- to- day grind.
“I think that’s what kept her sane,” Eva said. “She’s always been the type where, if she’s having a bad day she just goes to the gym. In fact, I felt she was lucky because a lot of people didn’t have access to the gym, and she did by herself. That’s where she needed to be.”
Assistant coach Shea Ralph, the former UConn star who tore her ACL five times before the age of 23, has been a strong advocate for Westbrook in her recovery.
“It takes a toll physically; it takes a huge toll mentally,” Ralph said of recurring knee issues. “You have to be a different kind of person to make it through that with a great attitude and get back onto the court. When you go through injuries that we did and surgeries that we did, your body isn’t the same and you have to make adjustments mentally and physically.
“She’s a great player. She’s a high- level athlete. I think her and I have a bond because of our mutual understanding of what it takes to get through that and get yourself back on the court and to be successful at this level.”
Westbrook was medically cleared in May. She said she’s taking it day- by- day and is still working to regain her strength and stamina, but Auriemma’s pleased with her progress.
“You can’t take anything for granted,” Ralph said. “Every day is a new day, every day that you get to compete is a great day. You just enjoy that day and then you move on to the next day. You learn how to kind of narrow your focus because any day that can change.
“But I’m thrilled for her. She’s really a great addition to our team. She has been for a long time. Our fans, people just haven’t been able to witness that yet.”
Said Auriemma, “I can see her drive, her edge and her competitiveness and her ability to make plays. The conditioning part is going to take some time … but at the same time, I’m really happy with where Evina is.”
MOTHER HUSKY
There are only three upperclassmen on UConn’s roster, all juniors. And one of those, Westbrook, was a spectator last season.
Still, no one on this year’s squad has more experience than the former
Lady Vol.
Westbrook, a 6- foot guard, started 33 games and made the SEC AllFreshman Team in 2017- 18, then started another 31 the following season. During the latter, she averaged 14.9 points, 5.3 assists and 3.6 rebounds. She was one of the most coveted transfers on the market.
Her talent is evident. So is her maturity.
Westbrook’s roommates, freshmen Nika Muhl and Autumn Chassion, have anointed her the mother of their “pod.”
“It’s just me and Nika, but she’s the oldest on the team,” Chassion said of Westbrook, who turned 22 last month. “She’s like a mom. She takes care of us. Anything we need, she’s there all the time.”
Westbrook said watching Muhl and Chassion is like watching her 13- year- old brother Tko. She calls them her kids.
“I’m like, ‘ Where are the kids at? Where are the kids? Are the kids OK?’ ” Westbrook said.
Westbrook has been named a captain along with returning juniors Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson- Ododa. During the offseason, the trio met regularly with the coaching staff via Zoom to discuss a book they were asked to read, “The Team Captain’s Leadership Manual” by Jeff Janssen.
She’s already embracing that role, and the many responsibilities that come with it.
“You can call someone a captain, but I think earning my teammates’ respect first is the most important part to me,” Westbrook said. “So just being a really vocal leader, being a leader by example, is something that I really have to show day- in and day- out.”
MOVING ON, READY TO PLAY
Despite all that’s transpired, Eva believes her daughter is exactly where she’s supposed to be.
“I don’t regret the decision she made because nobody knows what it was like for her, and as her parent, having to leave her in situations like that, I don’t wish that upon anybody,” Eva said of her time at Tennessee. “But that’s in the past, and when you’re in a bad situation you have to be brave enough to know when to move on.”
Westbrook, determined and resilient, is now ready to make the most of that decision.
“I haven’t played for like two years going through my surgery, sitting out, watching,” Westbrook said. “I’m really, really eager to get out there.”