• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Thursday, December 10, 1998

Baron of the court

FEATURE: Bouncing back from injury, Davis attempts to rediscover old talent, charm

By Brent Boyd

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Nearly nine months ago, Baron Davis sat on the Bruin sideline in St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field in agony.

Flanked by teammates, yet still all alone, he watched, suffering, as his team was embarrassed by Kentucky and eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.

And for the first time in his life, he was completely helpless on a basketball court.

For the first time in his basketball career, his cat-like quickness, eyes-in-the-back-of-the-head passing talent and sheer athletic ability were rendered useless. He couldn't save his team this time - a difficult task considering the brace on his left knee and a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) inside it.

For the first time in his basketball career, Baron Davis could do nothing but sit and watch.

"It was the worst, the worst. It was the worst feeling," Davis said of that 94-68 loss last March, "because it was like I let my teammates down. I left them out there.

"That was definitely the lowest point."

It's an image he can't get out of his mind.

But a long and frustrating 38 weeks later, he's at a point where that feeling can finally be erased from his mind. Finally, Davis is up to his old tricks again.

There are the no-look passes that surprise even the intended recipient, the quickness which renders the opposition defenseless and the enthusiasm that just forces everyone to play harder.

Almost 270 days since he tore his ACL by turning too fast on his post-dunk landing, almost 270 days since suffering his season-ending and potentially career-threatening injury in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Davis is back on the court after a lengthy rehabilitation process.

No doubt that the team loves having the point guard back.

Even if it's not the original version - not yet, anyway.

This is not the Baron Davis of old. He shot an air-ball against Oklahoma State on Saturday, blew two free throws that could have clinched the victory in that same game, and (according to his own count) has missed seven lay-ups in under 35 minutes of action.

"It's frustrating in a way," the sophomore guard said. "But I have to keep going at it. I've been missing lay-ups and such, I've just got to finish."

For one minute in Tuesday's intrasquad scrimmage it seemed as if Davis had put the ghosts of his rehab behind him. For a magical minute, he was the Baron Davis that Bruin fans learned to love last year, and opponents loved to loathe.

In that one minute he hit a three-pointer, stole the in-bounded ball, put it back up for a lay-up, blocked a shot on the defensive end, then put a fake on a defender who still didn't know what hit him, and flew past two other helpless opponents to the basket.

And missed the lay-up.

And with that one missed shot and with his ensuing scream, one could tell it still wasn't the same Davis that won the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year award last season.

Ten seconds after the blown lay-up, when play had ceased, he looked up at the scoreboard and screamed at no one in particular - except - perhaps -for himself. It was this one word that seemed to sum up his entire rehabilitation.

"Finish," he yelled loud enough for all in Pauley Pavilion to notice, though few showed any signs they did.

Although he no doubt was referring to his latest miss, he could have just as easily been referring to the rehabilitation that has consumed the last 38 weeks of his life.

The past nine and a half months have been dedicated to one thing, and one thing only - a return to the basketball court and the desire to put the feelings of the Kentucky game behind him.

The return came sooner than many people had expected. And despite his difficulties, he doesn't exactly look like a player who hasn't played in a game that mattered since March.

He has already played in two games, starting last Saturday's contest against Oklahoma State. In 35 minutes of action he has 16 points, four rebounds, two steals and already stands at fourth on the team with seven assists.

Against OSU, he made a key defensive steal with a minute and a half remaining, and then blocked a potential game-tying shot in the final seconds to preserve the Bruin win.

"I think he is further along than I would have imagined in the rehabilitative process," UCLA head coach Steve Lavin said. "It's great to have him back, he's got that contagious enthusiasm about him. He makes so much difference in the game."

But he would have never been back this soon if not for his intense rehabilitation. Working with Los Angeles Lakers team doctor Stephen Lombardo, Davis has been through a grueling few months.

For the first two weeks after his April surgery, he was in a brace 18 hours a day and had ice on his knee the other six.

"I was rehabbing for 20 hours a day." Davis said.

After two weeks of just sitting around, there was a month of flexing and leg extensions - two-and-a-half to four hours per day.

The following two months he could walk - by now, without a limp - and was able to start jogging towards the beginning of summer.

"By the end of summer I was able to sprint ahead, but I couldn't make any turns," he said.

Not until Nov. 11, nearly eight months to the day after he limped off the court in Atlanta, was Davis cleared to participate in basketball drills.

For 241 days Baron Davis was not allowed to play the game he had never before been without.

"Oh God, it was complete agony," Davis said of his rehab period that is within weeks of ending. "That's the only word to describe it. It was trying, it was a character test. You have to work and you have to do it every day. It was just something you had to do, and sometimes the results don't come as soon as you want."

But for someone that had already been through so much in life, this was just another test for Davis.

Growing up in South Central, his house was located two blocks away from a hot spot in the 1992 L.A. Riots. Davis learned to be tough and he learned that nothing comes easy.

"From where I grew up, it helped me a lot," he said. "You got to be tough, you got to be strong. You can't be soft or people will walk all over you, especially in my neighborhood."

Although he attended high school outside of his neighborhood - at Santa Monica's Crossroads High - Davis' toughness was tested more than ever.

In October 1996 his sister, Lisa Hodoh, bought a truck from then-UCLA head coach Jim Harrick and gave it to Davis. Though this was later cleared of any wrongdoing by the NCAA, word of potential violations spread quickly throughout Westwood and the college basketball world, putting Davis in the national spotlight.

"That makes you a stronger person," he said. "Being a kid in high school and going through something like that, that type of magnitude, it helps you grow up. It teaches you to grow up and be a man and it just asks for toughness from you, character wise."

Nevertheless, the rehabilitation was a tough time for Davis.

Basketball was like a mirage for him. He could see it, feel it and taste it - he just couldn't play it.

For five weeks in the summer during his freshman year of high school, he was sidelined by a broken ankle. Beyond that, Davis never knew what it was like to not be able to play the game he loved.

And so, doctoral advice be damned, he tried to play.

"Actually, my first pick-up game was in the summer, against the doctor's orders," he said with a grin that was difficult to tell whether it resulted from guilt or slyness. "I got in trouble for it, he almost killed me."

When the UCLA players returned to school in September for conditioning drills, they often played pick-up games after workouts. There was only one rule - no Baron, no matter how much he begged.

"We used to kick him off the court and he'd get mad at us," said sophomore guard Earl Watson, Davis' close friend. "He'd try to play but everyone would just stop playing until he left the court. He got mad and wouldn't talk to us for like 20 minutes and then he'd say that was the best thing we could have done. He'd thank us the next day."

Not playing hoops caused problems for Davis, however. Unable to spend his time with his favorite pastime, he wasted the hours with another hobby.

He'd eat.

"I just ate and watched TV," he said. "I eat a lot naturally, but I wasn't burning anything. I was eating pizza and Mojo potatoes from Shakey's with (teammate) Travis Reed every day. But I wasn't playing any basketball."

As a result, his weight ballooned from 205 to 230.

Still trying to work the extra weight off - he's at 210 now - Davis is in the final stages of his rehabilitation.

A few more weeks and he will be at full strength and back to as good as new.

Perhaps he'll be better than the player that averaged 11.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists last year.

Perhaps, he'll be back to the player that had the second-highest steal total in UCLA history last season.

Perhaps he'll never get back to the player he once was. But, then again, he could be even better than before.

"Physically it's his conditioning," Lavin said. "With his conditioning his play will definitely improve."

And he'll be back to take his role as the leader on the team - a role he inherits by being its leading returner in points, assists, rebounds and steals.

"The team with him has depth, and defensively and offensively he's another leader on the court. He's a man who makes big plays in crunch time," Watson said.

He has already made a difference in a game this year, blocking the shot at the end of the Oklahoma State contest last Saturday to seal the Bruin upset. But, for Davis, that wasn't the greatest reward for his dedication over the last few months.

That came three days earlier - against Delaware State in Pauley Pavilion. Entering a game for the first time in March, Davis walked on the court midway through the first half to the raucous cheers of the 8,000 fans in attendance.

"That was the highest I ever felt while playing basketball," he said. "Just being able to come back to our home game with our fans. Our fans are wonderful, I got a standing ovation. I didn't know how to react to it. I was just excited to be out there - my emotions were just running wild. That felt the best being out there with this group of guys."

For now he'll just have to be content with playing about 20 minutes a game - that is, until Dr. Lombardo gives him permission to play more. It is expected that some time in January he will be able to play the amount of minutes that he is used to.

But for now he's just focused on trying to finish - both his shots and his rehabilitation.

"Now that I'm able to play I'm getting better," Davis said. "Game in and game out, I'm feeling a lot more comfortable. I'm getting a better feel for the game. Slowly, slowly my conditioning is improving, slowly."

If he has it his way, he'll be back at full strength soon and back at Tropicana Field this March.

Only this time it would be for the Final Four - and this time, the only helpless players will be his opponents.

Now that would be quite a finish.MARY CIECEK

Sophomore guard Baron Davis is slowly making a comeback after injuring his knee late last season.

Comments, feedback, problems?

© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]

Comments

Post a comment