Sasha Stefanovic's return a welcomed sight for all involved
One of the many challenges coaches of all sports met back at the onset of the pandemic was this: Convincing young people accustomed to barreling through discomfort at times to train, practice or play to do just the opposite.
When COVID-19 hit, the message flipped, and that came with challenges, convincing those same young people that if they felt even the mildest of symptoms, to stay away and draw attention to it.
When Sasha Stefanovic woke up the morning after Purdue won at Ohio State, he could have gone about his business as usual.
Instead, he notified Purdue's trainer, Chad Young.
"Luckily I said something, because if COVID wasn't an issue," Stefanovic said, "I'd have just showed up for practice and tried to tough it out."
Purdue immediately suspected Stefanovic had contracted COVID, and its suspicions were confirmed soon thereafter when he tested positive, subjecting him to life in quarantine at a near-by hotel, then the balance of the Big Ten's mandatory 17-day moratorium.
For Stefanovic it meant sleeping late, watching lots of TV, watching lots of college and NBA basketball and as he joked, "staring at a wall."
"The last few days I was in there, it was really kind of driving me crazy," Stefanovic said. "I really wanted to get out there and go to practice or whatever. It's really frustrating being in that position where I've got to watch games in the hotel room and just sit there while everyone else is playing. But it is what it is. I'm just happy to be back now."
For Purdue, the feeling is mutual, as Stefanovic has been one of the Boilermakers' best, and steadiest, players this season, his value being only partially reflected by his numbers.
Purdue went 1-2 without him — losing to top-five Michigan on two days of Stefanovic-free practice, beating Minnesota, and then losing by a point at Maryland, the game he clearly would have made a difference in.
Without Stefanovic, freshman Jaden Ivey surged, though he'd been trending upward beforehand anyway. Brandon Newman erupted for 29 against Minnesota and played very well in two of the three games.
Painter's said that disruptions — the likes of which his team is now well-accustomed to, since this was essentially its fourth of the season — can be difficult in the moment but beneficial long-term. That's the hope now, that Stefanovic might be returning to a team that may be a little bit better around him in some small way, even if that just means more proven depth.
But looking at the trio of Ivey, Newman and Stefanovic, Purdue has three starters for two positions. Ivey will remain in the starting five for Thursday's game at Minnesota and very possibly well beyond.
"The one thing about depth is ... as a coach you just play it by ear," Painter said of minutes distribution. "You've got some guys who've established themselves, but then you've got some guys that when you get into certain games (you may need them more)."
Stefanovic is back.
"I'm perfectly fine. I'm 100-percent," he said. "Nothing is wrong with me."
But he probably can't be expected to be back quite yet, not after spending almost two weeks idled.
Soon enough, he hopes, he will be.
"I don't want to ease back into things," Stefanovic said. "I want to be back to what I was before I got sick. I'm fine. I'm 100 percent. I just want to get out there and contribute and help our team get some wins."
And once he is, Purdue will be back at full strength, or at least as close to it as it'll get.
Purdue is now 8-3 this season with all Its key players available. It had won four In row prior to Stefanovic being sidelined, the last of those wins being one of the biggest wins of the Big Ten season — the Boilermakers' victory at Ohio State.
This isn't the first time Purdue's gotten a key player backed and hoped for normalcy thereafter only to be denied. But maybe this time it sticks.
"Just continuing to get better together is important for us," junior Eric Hunter said. "Starting tomorrow."
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