May 27, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Throughout the 2007-08 season, as his teammates ran up and down the new UCF Arena floor during games and practices, Chris Baez could only watch from the sidelines. An injury suffered at the start of the fall semester forced the freshman shooting guard to miss the entire campaign.
Entering the season, Baez was expected to be one of the first perimeter players off of the bench for the Knights. As a result of Baez's injury, the Knights entered the year with little depth at the two-guard spot. The lack of depth became more of an issue when Mike Battle was injured in the team's second game.
For Baez, it was difficult to watch his teammates on the floor without him.
"It was real tough," he said. "I wanted to play. I am competitive."
During the year, Baez made great strides medically working with assistant trainer Andy Reber. Baez expects to be ready to play as a redshirt freshman when the Knights open the season in November.
Baez, who attended Maine's Lee Academy in 2006-07 after graduating from Kissimmee's Gateway High School, does admit there were some positives about not playing as a freshman.
"Just being in practice and the games, watching how the college game is [was helpful], he said. "The atmosphere is a lot more intense than in high school and prep school."
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