MOHEGAN — During Connecticut Sun training camp in April and May, observers saw in Allison Hightower an energetic, two-way guard who seemed far more valuable than the second-round pick used to get her.
Less noticeable was her resilience.
“Oh yeah, I was sucking air,“ Hightower said, laughing at the memory of four months prior. “I’m able to just go, go, go.”
Hightower finally stopped last week. Bogged down by fatigue and sickness, the rookie hasn’t dressed for the last three games while she and the team await the results of tests to determine why she’s felt ill not only of late but for the better part of the last calendar year.
Frequent ailments
Since the start of her senior season at LSU last fall, Hightower has dealt with multiple bouts of strep throat, the flu and, on at least one occasion, bronchitis. Twice this WNBA season, including during training camp, she’s played through strep, and last week, with the Sun nearing elimination from playoff contention, she told the team she simply felt too weak to play.
Sun coach Mike Thibault has said he doesn’t expect Hightower to play in either of the Sun’s final two games. She said she’s felt ill since a game at Washington last Tuesday, and with her overseas season approaching — she’s scheduled to leave for France on Sept. 15 — Connecticut is taking all necessary precautions.
“This past year has just been a rough year for me health-wise,” said Hightower, who visited doctors last week. “I just want to get back healthy. That’s all I’m striving for. Just rest now until they figure out what’s going on.”
Thibault has been impressed by Hightower’s work ethic, even when “you could tell there were days she was tired.” Last week, he said, she looked like “a kid trying to play with the flu.”
“She’s such a great kid, she’s got a good future ahead of her,” the coach said. “You don’t want to mess with that. I love the kid. She’s worked her butt off. And as a coach, you don’t know from day to day, unless they come and tell you, ‘Hey, I feel great,’ or, ‘Hey, I feel bad.’ Probably there were more days she didn’t feel great, and she came in, practiced, and didn’t say anything.”
Hightower said she is waiting on results to make any decision on possibly not going overseas.
For now, the Sun (16-16) play Friday at Chicago and Sunday at New York with no playoff berth on the line, but for a chance to continue to gain experience and gel. Hightower would love to be a part of that, but knows her health is her top priority.
“You want to be healthy,” she said. “You want to be able to do 100 percent, and to not do that is hard.”
Read the entire article by Matt Stout of the Norich Bulletin: http://bit.ly/c1YQhM