Most coaches, regardless of sport, are unwilling to share a generic statement about injury or expectation for his or her team. Most coaches are not Oklahoma State's Travis Ford.
In the middle of a morning stocked full of coaching cliché and carefully-worded answers at Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Day, instead of flicking off an inquiry about true freshman Cezar Guerrero's recent scary injury during a Cowboys practice last week, Ford went into great detail to the point every person on the Sprint Center floor stopped talking to listen.
"[Cezar] was coming off the baseline, up through the lane, guarding his man, and got a screen set on him," Ford started. "The first thing to hit was kind of his neck and shoulder area, and he just literally collapsed. I think he was knocked out for maybe five, 10 seconds.
"Then, he was screaming and yelling, 'My neck! My neck!' and different things like that. He was just flat on his back. Our trainer, first and foremost, Jason Miller, did an unbelievable job of handling the situation. I can't say enough of what Jason did, how he handled the situation.
"He immediately came out there, immobilized his neck immediately and started asking him questions and doing things. We immediately called the local paramedics in Stillwater. They got there very quickly and did a round of tests; immediately called for a helicopter, and we knew the seriousness of it at that time.
"There was a concern of paralysis from the tests that they were doing. Obviously, everyone was shaken up at that time. Players were really torn up, like nothing I've ever seen. It just goes back to the chemistry of this team. They were torn up. We had to take them off of the court and console them.
"We didn't even know what was happening at that time. Helicopter came, took [Cezar] to Oklahoma City - they wouldn't let me go with him, nobody could go with him. So, me and one of my assistants drove immediately to Oklahoma City to the hospital.
"Throughout the night, we didn't even know yet. He was starting to feel better in the hospital, but was still very groggy and very, very sore. He started to get movement in his legs back, no question, so we started feeling good, 'alright, the situation is not as serious as we thought it was.' But, we still didn't have the answers from the MRIs or the CT scans until the following morning.
"We spent the night with him and were there until the following morning. The doctors came in at seven in the morning and told him everything looked absolutely, positively normal perfect - nothing wrong. 'A stinger' is what he called it."
When Ford told the story last Thursday, Guerrero was scheduled to see a doctor this past Monday, at which time, Ford said, the hope was that the freshman guard may be able to resume playing.
"Scary moment," Ford said. "But, I think he's going to be okay. We're more concerned about him more mentally, at this point, because it was very scary for him."
Well, it's important for a coach or a manager to set realistic expectations. The best way to get the most out of your team is knowing who has to step up when someone has to step down.
ReplyDeleteCezar is on his way to full recovery after he suffered a neck injury in practice. He even helped run the offense with five points and two assists in an exhibition game. No more concern of paralysis, I hope.
ReplyDeleteHe has already recovered from the neck injury. After being knocked unconscious weeks ago, Cezar made his first starts of the season with a blast, scoring nine points, three rebounds and two steals against Stanford.
ReplyDeleteCezar has been performing like he has not been injured last month. He's proven that can carry the Cowboys if necessary.
ReplyDeleteIt is always a must to consult your lawyers of any case involving personal injury, sport injury and more. It's your responsibility to fight for your rights and ask for compensation if applicable. motorcycle accident attorney orlando
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