UF Redshirt Danielle Rainey Is Back and Ready

Coming back from a knee injury is not easy for any player. Especially if an athlete plays contact sports like basketball.

Daniel Rainey is cleared to return to practice.

Rainey on Returning to the Court

It was, unfortunately, the case for Rainey who saw her season shorten after sustaining a season-ending knee injury during a scrimmage during the 2019-20 preseason. After months of being off the field, she said she is excited to be back. However, this excitement comes with other feelings.

After not playing for months, Rainey said that coming back on the floor was bittersweet.

“I mean it is always great to be on the floor with my teammates and my coach,” she said. “But the physical part and the mental part was a little rough.”

Things have changed since Rainey last played. Everything is moving faster, but that has not stopped her to go along with it.

Rainey took advantage of her time off the court to focus on her shot and be ready for when the time comes. But the main difference between now and her injury is her mindset.

” You can be playing basketball one day and it can be taken way from you before God knows how long,” she said. “I am not talking about just my injury, but with COVID. I think my mindset shifted where is like you know what every time I am on the floor, i am going to maximize every opportunity.”

Coach and Teammates Impacts on Rainey

Rainey’s teammates and coach had helped her going through that hard time, and she is thankful for it.

Rainey on Her Teammates

Being on the bench supporting her teammates has shown her how great her team is.

“We can do some damage,” she said.

The connection and the relationship on and off the court drive the team to be great. This team is in a mindset where no one could beat us but us, she added

Rainey on the other teams

When it comes to team ranking, Rainey sees them as numbers, and they don’t matter to her, or the team.