More detail on James' return
Mar. 22, 2009 3:51 a.m.
Boise, Idaho -- In discussing Dominic James' return from surgery to repair his fractured left foot after a little more than three weeks, athletic trainer Ernest Eugene wanted to be clear about a few things.
Most important, the foot is not completely healed. It's in the process of healing, but well enough that James will be able to play without fear of damaging the foot further. Extensive testing and successive, intensive, pain-free workouts were all keys.
Also, don't expect James to play 35 minutes against Missouri. He'll likely be limited to shorter stints, because of the conditioning he's lost having not played in a game since Feb. 25.
With that said, here's what Eugene had to say specifically:
Is James' return to the court this quickly miraculous?
"It’s not miraculous at all. We talked to some professionals in the field, these cases are known, have happened in elite athletes. Looking pro football, looking at the NBA, looking at college basketball, it’s happened before. With any injury, you’re always going to get what we refer to as a protocol, ‘OK, this is where these people should be,’ but everybody heals differently. In some people it’s going to take longer, in some people it’s not. So I think we went through the process, the things that you have to accomplish – short-term goals.
"First we had to get rid of any edema or swelling, which he had none of those. Then we had to work on range of motion, strength and the proprioception, balance, all of that. Then functional activities and returning to play. He’s done so well. He’s been very instrumental in all of this, obviously. He’s been so dedicated to being where he’s supposed to be every day, doing what he’s supposed to do, and he’s surpassed every goal. At this point you can’t say, ‘Well, I’m going to stick with the protocol.’ We need to dig further.
"Obviously it’s our medical staff, but we’re talking to different experts in the field about it – probably some of the most respected experts in the country. The experts that are doing your lectures, writing your textbooks, and I’m fortunate to know some of them through my contacts in the past and got into contact with them. Our physicians got in contact with some experts, too, and everybody told us the things we need to look for, the things that we need to observe, and these are the things we need to do prior to saying we can clear him."
How much can be expected of him?
"Obviously he’s going to have restrictions in terms of time. He’s been cleared to play; it doesn’t mean he’s going to start, it doesn’t mean he’s going to play 40 minutes. I know Coach, he’s very smart, he’s very good at what he does, and I think he’s probably going to put him in in little different increments. Because when you start to fatigue, that’s when you bring bad habits and bad mechanics, and that leads to further injury, and that’s not something we want to deal with, obviously."
Is he conditioned enough to play a major role?
"First of all, I don’t think there’s anything you can do conditioning-wise that’s going to prepare you to play basketball. When you’re playing on the court, it’s not like riding a bike. But we’ve done bike, we’ve been in the therapy pool, we were in the pool right here in town on Thursday. We did a cardio workout just to get some of that back. Obviously that helps, but it’s not going to simulate what he can do on the court."
How exciting is it to you, as the team's athletic trainer, to see him bounce back so quickly?
"It’s exciting to everybody. It’s not about me or our physicians; it’s about the team and what the team is trying to accomplish. The fact that he’s with the team, I think their chemistry together that they’d developed in the games prior, I think all of that is exciting. I’m just happy for Dominic more than anything, because here you have a kid who’s had an injury like this and he thinks his college career is over, but just like Coach talks about every day, we’re just worried about today. We work hard every day, and you never know what’s going to happen. And I think that’s what he did."
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