Basketball is a true team sport, with each player on the team having a specific role to fulfill. From the freshman that probably won’t be seeing serious playing time until next year, to the star senior captain who’s looked at as the leader of the team, if there’s one thing both are trying to avoid it is the dreaded injury. The hard-work, time and effort spent on improving can be set back at anytime just by landing from a jump at the wrong angle, or making the wrong turn.
Kane McGovern, junior guard on the men’s basketball team, tore ligaments in his ankle, and was out for 5 weeks. “I got my injury during practice when I went for a layup and landed on the back of one of my teammates feet.” McGovern’s injury required that he wear a walking-boot for five weeks, but he didn’t let that deter him from staying active. “While I was in my boot, I was doing physical therapy at school with a therapist as well as lifting weights on my own to stay in shape, and make sure I was healthy when I got back. The five weeks I was out felt like the longest weeks, but thankfully I had my first game back this past Saturday against Marywood.” McGovern made sure to stay involved with his team by going to all of their practices and helping them out with whatever they needed.
Another player on the team that battled with an injury this season is junior forward DeVahnte Mosley, who had to nurse an ankle he sprained at a practice. Mosley was running when a teammate cut him off, causing him to roll his ankle.
“I haven’t been able to do much to stay in shape since the injury was to my ankle. As I’ve gotten healthier, I’ve been able to ride the bike in the training room to get my heart rate going and I’ve lifted a few times to try to maintain my strength.” Mosley said. Mosley has been out for a little over a month, but he came back to play in the game against Immaculata, Wednesday, Dec. 7th. Mosley said, “I’ve still attended all of our games and practices, and have been trying to be a good teammate in any way that I could like giving reminders, helping to correct their mistakes, fetching waters during timeouts, etc.”
Robbie Brosh, sophomore guard for the Cavaliers, had to step away from the game after discovering achilles tendinitis in his ankle. He sustained his injury from constant impact of his tendon hitting his bone, and because of this he is not sure how long he is out for. “I’ve been staying in shape these past couple of weeks by just lifting weights for my upper body and working on my core.” Brosh said that all he cares about is just making sure that he is 100% supporting his team at every practice and game.
“Watching from the sidelines has given me a new perspective. I’ve been able to learn from watching other people’s mistakes which is usually a bit harder to do when you’re playing. We’ve played six games so far, so people are starting to figure out what their roles are on the team. By watching so much, I’ve been able to get an idea of what my role will be when I return and what the team needs from me and may have struggled with. The more you watch, the more the game slows down. So I think that I’ll have more of a poise and understanding of what needs to be done when I return,” Mosley said.
