When McKinley Wright IV limped off the court at the McKale Center late Colorado's 88-74 loss to the Wildcats on Monday, not seeming to put any pressure on his right ankle, it certainly was not unwarranted to be concerned.
McKinley Wright IV's slight ankle tweak fails to slow him down against the Trojans:
But if his starting on Thursday at USC, playing 35 minutes and contributing a stat line of 19 points, four boards and four assists on 7-of-13 shooting wasn't convincing enough that he's just fine, take it from the man himself.
Wright IV looked like his normal self in the Buffaloes' 72-62 win over Southern Cal, Colorado's third straight win at the Galen Center.
"A little bit for the game it was a little stiff, but after the adrenaline gets going, you don't really feel it," Wright IV said. "I'm good."
Tad Boyle indicated after the game that Wright IV, whose injury was described as a minor ankle tweak, was never in doubt to miss the game vs. USC.
"I knew unless they were going to cut that leg off that he was going to play," Boyle said. "Quite frankly, I just didn't want USC to prepare for us and leave a little bit of a question mark in their minds. But I knew he was going to play."
Dallas Walton day-to-day, but Tad Boyle unconcerned in the longterm:
The other injury news of the night was with respect to big man Dallas Walton, who didn't play due to a "lower leg" ailment.
But akin to Wright IV, Walton's injury does not appear to be sever whatsoever.
As of right now, Walton's status for the Buffs' Saturday game at UCLA remains in question, but in terms of anything longterm regarding his leg injury, there isn't cause for concern among the coaching staff and trainers.
"He's battling a lower leg issue," Boyle said. "If push came to shove and we had to have Dallas tonight, he probably could have gone. Just having caution with him, a guy with three ACL tears...I kind of left it up to Dallas. He just didn't feel 100% and I need Dallas Walton at 100%...It's kind of a day-to-day thing."
