Winning an NCAA Tournament before you get drafted into the league is a thing of dreams. But three draftees from UConn got to share it. “I’m so grateful and just blessed. I’m so excited I got to share the moment with Kaitlyn and Paige, and I’m just super happy to be here.” Aubrey said. But as Paige and Kaitlyn are set to continue on their fairytale run, ghosts of her past have followed Aubrey all the way to the WNBA.

Last week, as the draft cheers faded and the time to put on the gear neared, the Minnesota Lynx revealed their roster for the training camp. Call it the most spoken about, because UConn’s beloved forward, Aubrey Griffin’s name remained glaringly absent. There were questions and heartbreak, but we knew the harsh truth– Griffin hadn’t completely recovered from her injury. Yet, as fans waited to hear the official update, Maggie Vanoni of the UConn Hoops dropped the news.

Griffin will undergo arthroscopic surgery on her left knee at the Mayo Clinic on the 1st of May. A timetable for her return, however, has not been set yet.

The star forward had suffered an ACL tear in January last year, forcing her to sit out most of the 2024-25 season, save for 16 games. Even after she had made a return earlier this year, Geno Auriemma would sit her out in early March, citing worsening concerns. Though she showed flashes of brilliance of her old self, and the head coach applauded her contribution, Griffin wasn’t exactly standing out. So, many, including the forward herself, wasn’t expecting her name to be called on the draft night.

But the Lynx took a chance on her. The franchise knew she was not back to full strength, but still recognized the talent. Speaking on what Aubrey brings to the team, Coach Reeves said, “Aubrey is a versatile athlete who defends, rebounds, runs the floor, is a willing cutter and efficient scorer. As a member of four Final Four teams, Aubrey understands what it takes to win.” While the aforementioned qualities would be apreciated by any coach, Aubrey’s biggest strength is her resilience in the face of adversity.

“She never lost hope. She never lost focus,” says Ricci, Aubrey’s coach at Ossining High, New York. “She was always a positive person to begin with, but she really showed that in the way she stuck it out. It was just incredible to me. A lot of kids would have given up.” Ricci knows just how much the former UConn Husky has endured over the past six years in Storrs and throughout her high school career.

This is not Griffin’s first bout with injuries. She has dealt with two ACL tears and a season-ending back surgery in the past. But this one has got to sting a little more after the carrot was dangled and taken away. It is going to take her 9 to 12 months more to rehab, recover, and get back to the court. Cameron Brink, who suffered an ACL tear herself in her rookie season, mid-June, hasn’t been able to get back to court yet. Nor is she expected to until 2025 mid-season. However, she did start practicing well by early January.

So the Minnesota Lynx currently are holding on to Griffin’s rights for a year as an unsigned draftee, so she could presumably opt to report to training camp in 2026. Griffin had awaited 6 years and now she has got to wait a year more. Understandable why Auriemma had previously called for stricter monitoring of athletes and not just from college level.

Geno Auriemma sounded an alarm on early injuries

After UConn’s 2024 NCAA Tournament run that was marred by injuries, leaving him just about 8 active players, Geno Auriemma expressed his frustration with the insufficient rehab and training some high school players undergo. Which results in them becoming injury prone heading into college and their professional careers.

“We do more testing now of those kids coming out of high school, so we know more now before they get here. But all that does is tell us what we have to work on. A lot of the issues these kids have, when they have issues in high school, they’re not addressed the way they need to be addressed.” 

Auriemma shared that while UConn has ramped up testing and monitoring, these measures fall short of fixing ingrained issues. Griffin’s injuries also originated during her time in high school and serves as caution to the top prospects across high school. But with the increasing cases, there have also been developments in surgeries in sports, which could mean reduced pain, faster recovery and lower risk of complications. Brink, for one, underwent the microscopic these advantages stem from. Griffin could benefit, too.

The future might appear bleak, but she has never been one to back down. “Every time she’s on the court, she’s gonna give it everything she’s got, every time she’s at rehab, she’s gonna give it everything she’s got. It’s in her blood, from her family, that she’s gonna rise to the occasion and she’s gonna show the whole world what we already know.” her coach, Ricci said. The Lynx have placed a low-risk bet on Griffin which has the potential to bring high rewards in the future.