Demary guts out 22 minutes and plus-22 rating to help UConn reach Sweet 16: “I had to be out there”

PHILADELPHIA — He scored only two points Sunday, both at the free throw line, yet wound up ending his night as the most efficient player on the floor.

For Silas Demary, Jr., it was not a question of whether he would be able to play on a sprained left ankle, or even how much he would be able to contribute. The only thing that mattered to UConn’s senior point guard was that he suited up.

“I just knew that I had to be out there with the guys,” Demary said after the Huskies defeated UCLA to advance to the Sweet 16 for a third time in four seasons. “I knew after Friday that I was gonna play, no matter what. Whatever I had to do to get on the floor, to be a part of this, I feel like I was doing anything I could.”

“I was around the clock trying to rehab, being in the pool, being with Tavarus (Ferguson, UConn’s assistant trainer). He was doing everything we could do to get back in.”

Demary worked through UConn’s pregame warmups appearing to not be hindered or have his mobility compromised after initially suffering the injury in the second half of UConn’s Big East tournament championship loss on March 14. The floor general had initially expected to be able to give it a go for the Huskies’ NCAA Tournament opener on Friday against Furman, but was ultimately held out at the last minute by head coach Dan Hurley as a precautionary measure.

On Sunday, Demary continues to receive treatment during the game, seen on the bench with a heating pad wrapped around his ankle when he was not on the floor. In 22 minutes of action off the bench, the Georgia transfer did not need to score to impact the game, instead doing most of his damage without the basketball to record a plus-22 efficiency rating, six points clear of the next-highest figure, a plus-16 posted by Braylon Mullins.

“He affects the game in so many different ways that don’t show up in the box score,” center Tarris Reed, Jr. said of Demary. “But that just shows you what type of guy he is. He’s selfless. He doesn’t care about his points, he doesn’t care about his assists. He just cares about winning.”

“I think he’s a warrior,” Mullins echoed. “An unbelievable player coming to play with that kind of injury. It could have been another week or two, and he makes an impact other than scoring, defense, rebounding, playmaking. He’s our leader. We all believe in him, and he was one of the best players on the court. That’s unbelievable to come out here and play like that.”

Demary’s infusion into this UConn lineup has altered the trajectory of its potential in multiple ways, but perhaps none more than having an experienced veteran on the court in search of nothing more than merely willing his team to victory. His defensive prowess has turned the Huskies back into the formidable unit fans are accustomed to seeing on that side of the basketball, while his heart and relentless drive is a continuation of the Hurley point guard lineage. Either way, UConn appears to have its heart and soul closer to 100 percent, which bodes well for however long the season continues on.

“I wasn’t really thinking about the injury,” Demary said. “Coach told me, ‘see how it goes in warmups,’ but I was like, ‘no matter how I go in warmups, I’m getting on the floor. It was no chance I wasn’t going to play.”

“I feel like my leadership, and then the coaches (with) just everything we do together, I feel like I just had to be out there, and I was glad I was able to get out there. I just took advantage of what I could do out there and did as much as I could to help us get the win.”