Bee: Monarchs fear the worst after Walker's injury

[VF21]

http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/204885.html

Monarchs fear the worst on Walker's injury
The consensus is her season is over, GM John Whisenant says.
By Melody Gutierrez - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Monday, June 4, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1

With no medical diagnosis yet available about the extent of DeMya Walker's knee injury, Monarchs general manager John Whisenant said Sunday the consensus is it will be season-ending.

Walker is scheduled to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging test this morning to confirm what is believed to be a torn anterior cruciate or medial collateral ligament. The 6-foot-3 forward suffered the injury during the first quarter of Saturday's 88-85 victory over Los Angeles when she jumped for a lead pass and became entangled with Sparks center Taj McWilliams-Franklin.

The two fell to the court, Walker twisting her right knee.

"The medical staff seems to think it's a tear, but it's a matter of what's torn," Whisenant said. "Either way, it will likely require surgery."

Walker missed 12 games during the 2005 season with a sprained ligament in the same knee. She returned from rehabilitation that season and helped the Monarchs win the WNBA championship. Last season, Walker missed 11 games after giving birth in April 2006.

Whisenant said he planned to call Walker on Sunday night to offer his support.

"I will try to cheer up her spirits," Whisenant said. "I know how important this season was to her."

The Monarchs did not practice Sunday but met as a team to review tape, Whisenant said. Walker attended the meeting on crutches with her knee in a cast.

About the writer: The Bee's Melody Gutierrez can be reached at (916) 326-5521 or mgutierrez@sacbee.com.

 

[kennadog]

No words to say.....

 

[6th]

The way Taj reacted so quickly, my first impression was that she heard something "go" in the knee. At that point, I figured it was serious and that we had lost our starting PF for the season. I am still praying for a speedy recovery. I know how important this season was to her and all the Monarchs.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

I'll echo the sentiment expressed thus far. Indelible in my mind for a long time will be the way she fell to the court, the way Taj IMMEDIATELY reacted to her, the expression on Ticha's face when she motioned to the sideline and seeing them making way for something to cart her off with. Mix of emotions yesterday and today as we await the inevitable news. She had worked so hard, this team was working so hard....

 

[Purple Reign]

What This Means On and Off the Court

My heart goes out to DeMya and her family. The Monarchs will miss her leadership, her passion and energy. On the court, the Monarchs organization for the last two seasons have played more than 10 games without DeMya on the floor, plus with this happening at the beginning of the season, they have time to make adjustments. I believe that this means two things:

1. Yolanda Griffith is going to have to play this season. In the first five games, I have gotten the feeling that either she has lost a lot in her game or that she is coasting until she is needed. WELL SHE IS NEEDED...AND RIGHT NOW!!!! Not in August, not in September....RIGHT NOW!!! Unless her game is gone.

2. Rebekkah Brunson will be a more than adequate replacement in the starting lineup. And to be honest, I have been looking forward to her playing starter minutes. My concern is what happens to the bench. The front court bench right now is very thin. Can Brittney Spears.....urrrr Wilkins fill that Erin Buescher role. We know what Williams can do, but is there someone on that bench that can come in and contribute and fill that void.

I bet you Whisnant is kicking his own behind now for letting Erin get away. She comes back to Arco tomorrow night.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

I don't think he's kicking himself about Buescher unless the salary cap got miraculously bigger overnight. He made a business decision for the long term. If your choice is essentially Buescher or Powell/Brunson in the future. I'd make the same decision he did.

Yo isn't coasting. She's not healthy. She is one bump away from possibly needing surgery on the thumb she has told them to tape up to let her play. She's giving us what she can give us and we sorta need to coast her if we want to have her in August. We can't burn her now and hope for the best.

Brunson and Williams are the key cogs now. What we get from them is what will determine how we manage this void. Wilkins is not going to play significant minutes so I wouldn't get worked up about how she stacks up to players who aren't here. Buescher left on her own accord, if she wanted to stay she would have signed here, we need to accept that. When she shopped for a deal we couldn't match, Whiz countered with AW. We need to accept that too.

 

[mdme]

This is really though for the Monarchs and us the fans, but really it is toughest on DeMya. I hope she can recover, it doesn't have to be this season, just that I hope she is ok.

Back to the M's, this is a serious blow to our championship hopes since the front court is already thin. If Yo was 3 years younger, we'd be fine but I believe Yo is not even 75% healthy so that leaves Bek and AW....and after nicole, we really don't have much height left. With strong frontcourt powerhouses like DET/IND it would be really tough.

One thing's for sure though, the Monarch's have HEART and you can never count them out!!!

Go MONARCHS.

 

[mdme]

on a side note: (I specifically separated this post)...don't you think there are eerily similar things with a certain Kings team before?

Aging center on his last year......
Great PF with a severe "knee" injury
A player on the 3 spot who is a deadly shooter from downtown
A starting 2 guard with an eye for defense and opportunistic offense
A point guard who passes well....umm..uh...actually the similarities end on the two spot.

 

[Purple Reign]

Yo isn't coasting. She's not healthy. She is one bump away from possibly needing surgery on the thumb she has told them to tape up to let her play. She's giving us what she can give us and we sorta need to coast her if we want to have her in August. We can't burn her now and hope for the best.

I can accept that. Which means I have to accept a lower standard, because the Monarchs as they are currently configured in the front court "could" struggle if what we see is what we are going to get from Griffith for the remainder of the season. Even before the thumb, she was not playing well.

As far as Erin goes, hindsight is 20/20 I guess.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Given the choice, I'd have rather kept Maïga-Ba, anyway; I think that's the loss that we're really going to feel in June and August.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

That's because she was "coasting" on a knee that wasn't healthy. Its not a lower standard, just a different standard and economic reality. I'd rather keep Powell and Brunson and our pick in the first round of a rich draft in 2007 adn run with that than overpay for role players off the bench. We needed cap space and the deals the two of them got I have to trust were not matchable for our long term future. We upgraded in Adrian Williams and between her and Brunson, that's where we are going to have to get something.

Maiga-Ba, perhaps...but Atkinson proved just as long and lean having the slashing ability to score that Maiga did, and probably will be as good a defender - hopefully minus the penchant for dumb fouls.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Maiga-Ba, perhaps...but Atkinson proved just as long and lean having the slashing ability to score that Maiga did, and probably will be as good a defender - hopefully minus the penchant for dumb fouls.

That's high praise indeed... I've only gotten to see the first three games, so I haven't had a chance to see Atkinson play, but I've long held the opinion that Maïga-Ba was the best perimeter defender we've had, so if Atkinson can be as good as that, I'll be impressed.

I don't think that the problem is that we don't have anyone to play the Buescher role (since I expect that Williams was brought in to play that role); I think that the problem is, particularly with the injury to Walker forcing Brunson prematurely into the starting role, that we don't have anyone off the bench capable of providing what Brunson did.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

If we get Brunson providing what Brunson can provide...(stop me if this sounds eerily like 2005) and the remaining bench players combine for what Walker had given us up until this point. It won't be pretty but its gonna have to work. Atkinson is long and athletic, perimeter defense is her forte. Learning how to co-exist in this defensive scheme is where her learning curve will be.

 

[MamaBristow]

http://www.wnba.com/monarchs/news/news_one.html

The Sacramento Monarchs today announced that forward DeMya Walker underwent a MRI which confirmed a patellar tendon tear in her right knee. It also confirmed a sprain to her MCL in the same knee. She is expected to be out for the remainder of the 2007 season. Walker will undergo further evaluation and be scheduled for surgery at a later date.