STORRS, Conn. (AP) Just when Connecticut's All-America center Emeka Okafor seemed to be getting sharp, he took another jolt Wednesday.
Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said Okafor was bumped hard in practice. Calhoun said the injury was similar to the stinger Okafor got against Alabama in the Phoenix Regional final, when a hard foul jarred his neck and sent a stinging pain down his arm.
''We fully expect that he may take it easier tomorrow, but will fully practice again on Friday,'' Calhoun said.
Okafor was hit with about eight minutes left in the workout. Calhoun raved that until then Okafor was dunking and looking ''much better than he has been, I would say, for almost a month.'' Okafor missed three games, two in the Big East tournament, because of spasms in the muscles around a small stress fracture in his back.
Calhoun joked that whoever hit Okafor this time wouldn't be traveling to San Antonio for the Final Four. The team left Wednesday evening. UConn plays Duke in a national semifinal Saturday night.
''Someone actually hit his arm, which got his shoulder to move a little bit,'' Calhoun said. ''I think with a little bit of ice, TLC, talk, he'll be just fine.''
Okafor, a 6-foot-9, 252-pound junior who will graduate in May, averaged 18.1 points, 11.7 rebounds and a national-best 4.3 blocks this season. He was chosen Wednesday as one of the 10 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award as the nation's top college basketball player.
Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said Okafor was bumped hard in practice. Calhoun said the injury was similar to the stinger Okafor got against Alabama in the Phoenix Regional final, when a hard foul jarred his neck and sent a stinging pain down his arm.
''We fully expect that he may take it easier tomorrow, but will fully practice again on Friday,'' Calhoun said.
Okafor was hit with about eight minutes left in the workout. Calhoun raved that until then Okafor was dunking and looking ''much better than he has been, I would say, for almost a month.'' Okafor missed three games, two in the Big East tournament, because of spasms in the muscles around a small stress fracture in his back.
Calhoun joked that whoever hit Okafor this time wouldn't be traveling to San Antonio for the Final Four. The team left Wednesday evening. UConn plays Duke in a national semifinal Saturday night.
''Someone actually hit his arm, which got his shoulder to move a little bit,'' Calhoun said. ''I think with a little bit of ice, TLC, talk, he'll be just fine.''
Okafor, a 6-foot-9, 252-pound junior who will graduate in May, averaged 18.1 points, 11.7 rebounds and a national-best 4.3 blocks this season. He was chosen Wednesday as one of the 10 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award as the nation's top college basketball player.