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UConn men’s basketball signs Team Impact member Deuce Busari-Woodberry
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- UConn men’s basketball signs Team Impact member Deuce Busari-Woodberry
(Joe Arruda/Hartford Courant/TNS)
STORRS – The UConn men's basketball team signed its first-ever six-star recruit on Tuesday.
Kire "Deuce" Busari-Woodberry Jr., a 7-year-old from New Britain, was connected with the Huskies through Andrea Hurley's volunteer work at the Connecticut Children's Hospital in Hartford and has been around the program for about two years, going to games and hanging out with players in the locker room. He officially signed his letter of intent through the Team IMPACT program at a formal press conference with the whole team and staff in attendance.
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"Deuce" was just 2 1/2 years old when he was diagnosed with a tumor in his liver, called Rhabdomyosarcoma. He has gone through more than six reconstructive surgeries, 40-plus weeks of radiation and countless amounts of therapy over the last 3 1/2 years.
"We've lost a lot of his childhood, but we're slowly but surely making it back up," his mom, Luz Rivera, said, as Deuce bonded with the Huskies' players on the court. At one point, he was lifted up by center Na'jai Hines to throw down a two-handed dunk.
"He hasn't been to school, he's going to start school now, so being with the boys I feel like will help him get some more social skills in a way, and I just can't wait to see that happen," Rivera said. "Because he's around us adults and he's laughing with us, talking with us like it's nothing. So I can't wait to be able to show that side of him more now that he's trying to get back to normal."
Deuce is technically in remission, his mom said, but his liver is still failing. He still goes to the clinic weekly, though Rivera is able to provide a lot of his care at home.
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"Deuce, he's a warrior. Just what he deals with on a daily basis, the battles he's fighting. He's got unbelievable charisma, and he's funny, and he's just got an awesome little swagger of a personality and just lights up any room that he comes into," coach Dan Hurley said.
"Having the pleasure to know him for the past few years, I got closer to him and actually tried to stay in contact. My parents have been in contact, my mom has reached out to his family, really just trying to be like a support system," said senior Solo Ball , one of many favorite players Deuce has had over the years. "He gives us motivation every day, he gives me motivation every day, just knowing what he's going through and the battles he's fighting (as opposed to) the battles we think we have."
Through Andrea Hurley's volunteer work, the UConn program has been very connected with the Children's Hospital and the Team IMPACT program, which pairs children dealing with serious illnesses with college sports teams around the country. Deuce used to call her, "Dr. Lady," when they initially met. He's always been a basketball fan and was already familiar with the team before the relationship formed.
"It all started with my wife Andrea and we've just gotten to know a lot of the families and a lot of the nurses and the practitioners and the doctors and the administrators, and it's just kind of morphed into them being a real part of our team. A part of every home game, they're with us in the huddles, in the locker room. It's not a one-off thing. They're really a part of the journey with us and it's just been awesome to be a part of," Dan Hurley said.
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Elijah Randolph , a Farmington native who signed with the team last year during his battle against a rare form of blood cancer, is now a freshman in high school and has been on the sideline for UConn's home games (exhibition's included) with a photo vest as he explores sports photography. Rylan Ellingwood , from Ellington, signed with the team in 2018 at 7 years old living with chronic immune dysfunction, and was able to join the Huskies during their run to the 2023 national championship.
"I don't know how much exactly we do for them besides provide them some inspiration and something to serve as a distraction with what they're going through," Hurley said. "But it's one of those situations where we may get more out of it than they are because they give us some perspective in a life that doesn't always lend itself to that."
It was Hurley's idea to bring Deuce and his family into the newly-renovated locker room inside Gampel Pavilion, where he sat in Solo Ball's chair and spun around, enjoying his time around the team as Hurley provided comedic relief.
"He's been looking forward to this for so long," Rivera said. "(Dan and Andrea) have meant so much, honestly. Coach always has like a good dark humor in a sense that his dad and I always kind of joke with, so that always kind of felt like home. And then Andrea has always been there for me to talk in the hospital. There were times where we were just spending months and months in the hospital and she would come up and visit and stay for like an hour or two and just talk, and honestly it just made everything so much better. They were a great support system."
