I received a tweet on Tuesday evening from @Jeremy_Ba11 which read, “I
saw Noel at the children’s hospital visiting kids with cancer. He didn’t
deserve this. He’s a great person.”
The injury gods don’t discriminate.
If you’re a basketball fan a bit like myself – on Tuesday night with
8:04 remaining in the second half of a game between No. 7 Florida and
No. 25 Kentucky — you likely tried to cover your eyes or mouth, winced
and were forced to turn away from your television when Kentucky’s
18-year old freshman standout Nerlens Noel went down in a heap on the
floor with what appeared to be a very serious knee injury. If you’re
similar to me, something inside compelled you to change the channel — at
least briefly. If you’re exactly like me, when you flipped back to the
game only to hear this young man lying on the floor writhing in pain,
grabbing his left knee and screaming so loudly that not even the
producer in the ESPN truck broadcasting the game to a national audience
could shield viewers from the sound of such a terrible scene, you likely
felt sick to your stomach.
As an unapologetic Kentucky Wildcat alum and fan, when Anthony Davis
left last season to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, I immediately
tempered all expectations I had for the skinny 6-foot-10 kid who’d
signed with the university and had “UK” scrawled in the back of his head
during his most recent trip to the barber. I mean, you’ve seen kids
like this come and go, right? You know the look — designs shaved in
their haircuts, more arm, elbow and knee sleeves than Meadowlark Lemon.
Come on, that kid arrives in one form or another on every campus across
the country year in and year out, doesn’t he? Much sizzle until the
season begins and then … little steak. Runs like a deer, jumps like a
deer … thinks like a deer.
It took me 30 minutes of practice in October at the Joe Craft
basketball athletic facility on Kentucky’s campus this past fall to
realize that this young, skinny kid named Nerlens Noel — who looked like
a Ferrari — was more like a rugged, dependable, hard-knockin’ Chevy
truck under the hood. Sure, the sizzle was there, but there was filet
mignon for days. This young Noel kid could play for Bobby Knight any day
of the week. Heart, hustle, desire — just like the play he was injured
on Tuesday evening.
Injuries, in the sports world, are strange things. Serious injuries in
sports unfortunately are, as Forrest Gump would say, “like peas and
carrots.” They’re like peanut butter and jelly.
Whether you’ve played middle school, high school, rec league,
intramural, college or pro sports, the chances are that you’ve been on
the court or field when one of your friends or opponents has suffered a
bad injury. No matter the level, no matter the person — what you’ve just
witnessed is something you know that you’ll never forget. And you
don’t.
I’ve seen more than my fair share of horrible injuries over the years
in sports. The first one that comes to mind for me and many other folks
around my age is QB Joe Theismann of the Washington Reskins, after being
hit by the ferocious Lawrence Taylor. The vision of arguably the
toughest, baddest player in NFL history (Taylor) screaming, jumping,
motioning for help and grabbing his helmet as if to be saying, “Oh my
God! What have I done?” after seeing Theismann’s right tibia and fibula
both snap in two is unforgettable. That vision of 9:10:53 PM is
something that was burned into my memory from the moment I saw it happen
on live television Monday night Nov. 18th, 1985. I’m sure I’ll never
forget it.
I’ve seen awful injuries happen to opponents right at my feet — such as
NBA star Ron Harper in January of 1990, when I cut off Ron from going
baseline, but his knee decided to keep on going, leaving him in a
crumpled pile grabbing his knee while I’m kneeled beside him motioning
frantically for a trainer, a doctor or ANYONE who knows anything more
than I know to “get here and get here quick!” I’ve trailed teammates on
fast breaks, like Danny Manning, who blew out his knee for the THIRD
TIME as I was the first teammate to arrive and hold his hands while
waiting for medical personnel to arrive and assist my longtime buddy.
Those memories never leave.
And of course, I’ve suffered a few bad injuries myself. Likely the
worst happened in a game on MLK Day in 1994 when I landed on Dennis
Rodman’s foot after a bucket and fell to the floor grabbing my ankle. A
compound fracture and dislocation of my right ankle with a partially
torn Achilles tendon. Honestly, I don’t even remember that injury
hurting at the time. Not when it happened or even during the two-plus
hours it took for the ambulance to transport me to the hospital due to
the blizzard happening on the East Coast that day. Nope, what I will
always remember though, were the looks of sheer TERROR on the faces of
opponents David Robinson and Rodman or teammates Tom Gugliotta and Kenny
Walker while I was laying there on the floor. I still have the
occasional dream of that injury happening.
But injuries like the ones on Tuesday night to UK’s Nerlens Noel are
even harder to process and seem to tug at your heart strings that much
more. When a college kid is injured, no matter what school you root for
or where your allegiances may lie, your heart goes out to the young
student athlete who was injured doing the one thing he’s dedicated his
young life to doing and doing it for OUR entertainment.
When a pro athlete is injured, while still difficult to watch, there is
a mindset that says, “Well, he was injured on the job and at least he
is very well compensated for doing what he does.” But when a young
athlete in college suffers a severe injury it’s viewed differently — and
it should be.
I have to give credit to the NCAA for doing something exemplary in the
past year. They created a Student-Athlete Insurance Program which allows
up to $5 million worth of insurance — financed by the NCAA — for a
premium of roughly $40,000 per year which guards against a catastrophic
or career-ending injury. While $5 million is a drop in the bucket of
what NCAA players such as Nerlens Noel or, for instance, a healthy
Jadeveon Clowney — on the football side of the ledger — will likely earn
over the lifetime of their respective professional careers, THIS IS A
HUGE STEP in the right direction.
I saw a picture of Nerlens Noel late Tuesday night — obviously taken by
an out of control Kentucky basketball fan — after he’d just arrived
back in Lexington, Ky. from Gainesville, Fla. on the team plane. Noel
was on crutches waiting for a team manager to open the door for him so
that he could get out of the cold and into his DORMATORY. No entourage.
No family members. Just an 18-year old youngster who knows good and well
that an entire sports world views him as a consensus top-three draft
pick whenever he ultimately decides to leave UK for the riches that
await him someday in the NBA. A kid who’s flat-topped head I’m sure is
spinning and filled with many more questions than answers right now. The
point is, he’s a kid.
I’ve gotten to know Noel a little bit during his brief career proudly
wearing the same Kentucky blue and white I spent my college years
wearing. And from the little time I’ve spent around him, watched him
practice, heard little things coaches and those around the Kentucky
program have to say about him — this really is a unique young man.
We all found out yesterday that Nerlens Noel has a torn ACL. If this
were years ago, his injury would be considered career-threatening.
However, not any longer. Two words big fella, ADRIAN PETERSON.
Not surprisingly, it already appears that young “Noilens” (n’yuk, yuk,
yuk. Sorry, can never help myself) already has his head in the right
place, as he sent out a tweet just hours after receiving the difficult
news about his left knee saying, “Minor setback for a MAJOR comback.”
Come on -– where does perspective like this come from? I’m 45 years old
and still fall to pieces when I get a sniffle.
Injuries and rehab are every bit a part of basketball as are blocked
shots and floor burns. So, Nerlens, take it fast and it won’t last. Take
it slow and you’ll go. Try to rest up and enjoy it all — from the rehab
itself to the ice baths afterwards. From the tears of frustration and
those of pain to every little stride you make between now and the time
we get to see you back healthy -– as a bigger, better and badder Nerlens
Noel on the basketball court. Take a deep breath and exhale. Look
around and take it all in. Because I promise, you’ll be back on the
grind before you know it, homeboy.
Rex Chapman played at Kentucky from 1986-88. He was a two-time
All-SEC selection as well as an NABC All-American in 1988 before opting
for the NBA Draft. He was the No. 1 choice — eighth overall — of
Charlotte and played for the Hornets (1988-92), Washington Bullets
(1992-95), Miami Heat (1995-96) and Phoenix Suns (1996-2000). Follow Rex
on Twitter @rexchapman.
Nerlens Noel
