INDIANAPOLIS — Solo Ball entered UConn’s packed locker room at Lucas Oil Stadium on Thursday with a smile, but his heavily taped wrist was impossible to ignore.
With a Final Four showdown against No. 3 seed Illinois less than 48 hours away, Ball is not fully recovered — still dealing with the lingering effects of a mid-December wrist injury that has quietly altered the thing he always relied on most.
Ball is not just a good shooter. He is great. A meat slicing machine. His 99 3-pointers last year – fourth-most in a season at UConn – prove it loud and clear. But with the prospect of a Final Four showdown with No. 3 seed Illinois in less than 48 hours, Ball acknowledged he has just come to terms with the lingering effects of a painful wrist injury he suffered in mid-December. Ball is reminiscent of a 15-day period in December where he hit his wrist awkwardly against Butler, sat out against DePaul and re-aggravated the injury against Xavier.
UConn won all three games as Ball overcame the pain, but it came at a cost — and Ball is still dealing with the mental anguish of losing some control over his once pure jumper.
Ball is shooting just 29% from 3-point range this season. That’s down significantly from his 41% range from a season ago. He’s still somehow made 71 triples, which ranks fifth in the Big East, but the inconsistencies on a game-by-game basis — depending on how the wrist feels — can be equal parts troubling and illuminating as he plays a tough game without his go-to weapon.
the ball bounces up and down
UConn’s solo ball shooting has slowed since suffering a wrist injury against Butler on Dec. 15. Since then, Ball’s scoring average has dropped 3.7 points and he is shooting 7.1 percent.
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“I just want to be on the court,” Ball said. “I have to learn how to step up and try to impact the game in other ways. I’ll do whatever it takes to win.”
The ball went 0-for-5 from downtown, but Dan Hurley believes UConn didn’t play great from behind, leading to an Elite Eight win over Duke without a steal of the ball and an old-fashioned 3-point play with 3:42 left to cut Duke’s lead to just 67-65. Oh, and he had a huge offensive rebound with 91 ticks, earning a trip to the charity stripe to put even more game pressure on the Blue Devils.
Demery got a deflection, Alex Karban made the extra pass and Braylon Mullins rained out the game-winner, but those two winning plays in Ball’s clutch gave UConn a big life, and it didn’t need to make a single jumper to do it.
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david cobb
“He’s a huge threat and he’s very capable,” Hurley said. “He played very well against Illinois and at MSG (Madison Square Garden), he made some shots, and it’s always good for a player to go up against an opponent because it matters to a player’s psyche. But he’s really guarded well for us in the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight, and when he’s not making shots, he creates a lot of space for others. As long as he guards and rebounds and tries and makes as much as Plays as hard as possible, he’s still an incredibly valuable player for us, like 30 minutes a game.”
Ball’s home zip code usually floats around the 3-point stripe, but this year he’s tried to crash the offensive glass with more gusto. After shooting just 48% on layups a year ago, Ball is up to 58% on the tin in 2025-26. Playing with two feet has helped draw more fouls on the ball. He hit 27 more free throws than a year ago.
ball don’t lie
Solo Ball’s wrist injury has affected his jumper this season.
| Solo ball shooting, explained | 2024-25 | 2025-26 |
| Catch-and-shoot 3-pointers without defense | 50% | 36% |
| Protected Catch-and-Shoot 3-pointers | 33% | 22% |
| Pull-up 3-pointers | 43% | 29% |
Slowly but surely, Ball has tried to become a more complete player, even with the noise of missing 3-pointers.
“How many hustles can I make to try to do that? That’s something I’ve got to do more of in these next two games,” Ball says.
getty images
That grittiness of Ball has permeated UConn’s locker room. Point guard Silas Demery Jr. is dealing with a severely sprained ankle, but is on the floor. Forward Jaylin Stewart has been battling a right knee injury, but he is back at the most crucial juncture of the season.
“It just reflects our coaches and our culture,” Stewart told CBS Sports. “None of us want to let people down. And Solo has been that way his whole life. Never wants to let his teammates down. He always wants to fight with us. He’s a tough guy. Nobody is 100% this time of year, so if you can get out there, you have to do that.”
Everyone is having ups and downs and injuries as the 39th game of the season approaches, but UConn is unquestionably the team with the most losses in the Final Four, with two lynchpins like Ball and Demery operating below the peak of their powers.
“Winning means a lot to us, and our best players playing through injuries, knowing that no matter what, we want to be on the field and make those plays, I think it’s a testament to this program,” Demery told CBS Sports. “If we win it all, we’ll be remembered as the guys who toughed it out and were able to play through injuries, no matter what.”
