Buay Tuach Built Himself Up Following Foot Fracture, Closes Out Second Season On High Note

Each season of a professional player’s career is a journey in itself. The NBA G League season may only be 50 games, but so much can happen in those five months. A player experiences many positive Kodak-esque moments that are worth a thousand words. That same player will run into some hurdles as well.

Just as the G League season was set to start, Buay Tuach’s returning rights were traded to the Capital City Go-Go. He was waived a day later. It didn’t take long for the 24-year-old guard to find a new team. He was acquired by the Westchester Knicks five days later. After being reacquired, Tuach was grateful that the organization was invested in his growth and development.

“I feel grateful for that,” Tuach told Ridiculous Upside. “They believe in me and they obviously (have) a future for me and that’s something I got to have gratitude for. Just keep building up and keep moving forward from there.”

The Loyola Marymount product stressed how he was in a great place like Westchester where they consistently pushed him and put him in the best situation to succeed.

“I’m in a great situation over here, even just going through this injury,” Tuach continued. “It’s building back up. They’ve constantly been on my back; getting back to where I need to be and where I’m suppose to be. Right now, that’s why I’m back into the flow of what I got to do on defense and offense.”

Tuach was poised to have great success in the 2018-19 season. He made his debut against the Maine Red Claws where he contributed five points and three rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.

He only played in two games before he suffered a right foot fracture and was waived in early December. While he was going through his rehab, Tuach tried to stay mentally focused and keep his confidence growing.

“Just staying mentally focused because that can really get to your mental,” Tuach said. “Also just build up my confidence. Keep my confidence going. Then my rehab process was really easy because I had people that supported me who were rooting for me to get back. I just had to do the work. Keep the grind. Same grind, but also you just got to keep that mental stability.”

Tuach focused on building himself up over those two months. He was mentally strong enough to overcome a difficult part in his season and knew he could rebound when he returned. His focus was to keep transitioning his game to prepare him for the next level. While he was out with an injury, Tuach remained in communication with the Knicks’ organization.

“There was communication,” Tuach detailed. “Just during that process, they were just saying ‘Just build up’. Keep working out. Do whatever you got to do to get back. Then after we feel like you’re ready, we’ll call you back. We just kept in touch.”

Two months after being waived by Westchester, Tuach was reacquired by the team and suited up for the team two days later. He played in 15 minutes in his first game back then saw his minutes go down and back up as the season progressed. He had two of his best performances of the season against the Wisconsin Herd and Windy City Bulls where he was efficient with his shot and effective on the defensive end.

The 6’6” guard recorded eight points and seven rebounds, while his two steals were an addition to the team’s 11 total steals and helped give Westchester second chances. The Knicks shot 55.5 percent on those opportunities. Following those two games against Wisconsin and Windy City, Tuach tried to keep his confidence rolling heading into the final stretch of the season.

“I just got to keep my confidence up,” Tuach said. “Keep building up and just keep relying on my teammates because my teammates do a pretty good job of finding me. Just keeping my confidence up to take that shot. It’s been a minute since I played. It’s easy when your teammates are hyping you up and your coaches got your back.”