Bouknight sidelined
UConn’s leading scorer out indefinitely after elbow surgery
UConn will be without its leading scorer for a while.
Sophomore James Bouknight underwent surgery on his left elbow Tuesday and will be out for an indefinite amount of time, the school announced.
Bouknight hyperextended his left elbow late in the first half of UConn’s victory at Marquette on Jan. 5. The 6-foot-5 guard was diving for a loose ball and Marquette
guard Koby McEwen landed on Bouknight’s left elbow. He didn’t start the second half but came into the game a little less than midway through the half, though he didn’t contribute much as the Huskies rallied back from an 18-point deficit.
Bouknight didn’t play in UConn’s win at Butler on Jan. 9, or at DePaul on Monday. Coach Dan Hurley had listed him as a “gametime decision” for both games
At the time of his injury, Bouknight was leading the Big East in scoring at 20.3 points per game. St. John’s Julian Champagnie has since taken over the league’s scoring lead at 20.7 ppg. Bouknight, who averaged 13 points per game as a freshman, was a preseason second team all-Big East selection and has been rated as a 2021 first-round NBA draft pick, and likely a lottery pick, by multiple scouting services and mock drafts.
Bouknight scored a career-high 40 points in a loss to Creighton last month, the second-highest point total by a UConn player in a Big East game behind Donyell Marshall’s 42 in 1994.
According to UConn, Bouknight’s “progress will be closely monitored by the UConn athletic training staff and medical professionals. There is no timetable for his return.”
Jeff Goodman of the Stadium tweeted that Bouknight would likely be out two to four weeks, based on what UConn coach Dan Hurley said on Goodman’s podcast Wednesday. Hurley said after Monday’s win at DePaul that, if Bouknight had to miss any game action, he probably wouldn’t be out too long.
UConn’s Friday game against Villanova was postponed, so the Huskies next play Monday against St. John’s at Gampel Pavilion.