PHILADELPHIA — For UConn assistant basketball coach Andre LaFleur, the biggest victory of the season came in January. That's when his infant son underwent successful skull reconstruction surgery.

"He's basically 100 percent," a beaming LaFleur said at the Wachovia Center as the Huskies prepared for Sunday's NCAA Tournament second-round game against Kentucky. "It was a miracle."

Adonis LaFleur, now 10 months old, was born with a form of craniosynostosis, a birth defect of the brain characterized by the premature closure of one or more of the fibrous joints between the bones of the skull before growth is complete, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

The first sign of craniosynostosis is an abnormally shaped skull. Other features can include signs of increased intracranial pressure, developmental delays, or mental retardation, which are caused by constriction of the growing brain. Seizures and blindness also may occur, according to the NINDS Web site. The cause of craniosynostosis is unknown.

New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada's son, Jorge Jr., was born with the same birth defect, LaFleur said. Posada has started a foundation to help families affected by craniosynostosis.

The news of Adonis' condition caught LaFleur and his wife, Alana, off guard. As a point guard under coach Jim Calhoun at Northeastern, LaFleur was accustomed to being in control. Now the ball was in the surgeons' court.

"It was scary because, you know, having an infant son, you don't want to hear about any surgical procedures to an infant," said LaFleur, who's in his second season as a Huskies assistant under Calhoun after three year's as UConn's director of basketball operations.

"He's fine," LaFleur said. "Within two weeks, he was back to perfectly normal. Luckily it was more of a cosmetic procedure. They had to go in and they had to make sure that everything was going to be in proportion. It was actually skull reconstruction. They had a great cranial/facial team there and it was actually done by a neurosurgeon and a facial team."

"They have a great setup for parents of kids that are in pediatric intensive care," said LaFleur, who lives in Manchester. "They have some suites that they set aside that are right outside the pediatric intensive care unit. That was great. It was really comforting knowing that we could sleep right there in the hospital."

LaFleur was still able to coach during such a trying time, leaving Adonis' bedside only for UConn practices and games. While his son was recovering, UConn was starting Big East play and trying to work junior point guard Marcus Williams, coming off a semester-long suspension, into the rotation. LaFleur said Calhoun was extremely supportive.

"I'm a pretty private person and I understand that we were in a very stressful time with our season," he said. "I tried to keep it separated as much as I could. They were very, very supportive of my time away."

Although he didn't talk much about his son's surgery with the team, the players were fully aware what LaFleur and his family were going through. He works primarily with UConn's guards, often calling them on the telephone or huddling with them after practice to discuss their development.

"If I see something at practice, I'll call them later at home," he said. "I had to take time out from being with my family to get on the phone and talk to the guys. I think they knew at the time, ‘ I'm giving you some serious time here, so let's cut to the chase and let's get serious about what I'm talking about so we can learn some things. I'm not calling you just to schuck and jive with you on the phone.' The guys responded great to that. They knew my time was valuable."

LaFleur's hard work and dedication paid off Friday night against Albany in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Connecticut trailed the Great Danes by 12 points in the second half, but came charging back behind guards Williams, Denham Brown and freshman reserve Craig Austrie for a 72-59 victory. Austrie's contributions came on the defensive end. It was an impressive performance, considering his minutes have been reduced significantly since Williams' return.

"I think Andre's been a great, great help to Craig," Calhoun said. " I think he's been staying with Craig and really, as a former point guard and a terrific one, trying to let him know what his role is."

"I love everything about coaching," LaFleur said. "I love recruiting, getting out and seeing a lot of other kids, going to a lot of high school games and practices. I'm learning a lot."

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