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3 + 2 = 5
Join Date: Aug 2002
Age: 25
Posts: 22,472
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Re: Still "concern" with Damon's knee rehab
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The last time Grizzlies fans saw point guard Damon Stoudamire on the court was December 30 of last year in Portland. His season ended that night when he ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee. Since then he has been undergoing extensive rehabilitation to recover from the injury, and Thursday morning he worked out for Grizzlies management. Afterwards Stoudamire did an exclusive interview with grizzlies.com to talk about how he’s progressed in his rehab.
Q: Can you tell us how today’s workout went, what they put you through and how you responded?
Damon Stoudamire: “Today went well. They put me through shooting drills, a couple of running drills, just basically trying to see if I could plant, push off, things of that nature on the knee. I think everything went well. It’s been a long process, I’ve been working hard, I know there’s probably been a lot of questions about me because I’ve been gone it seems like forever since the injury happened and I’ve pretty much been gone ever since, but I’ve been gone handling business. I wish it was play but I’ve been gone handling business trying to get back right, but I think everything went well today.”
Q: Can you cut, plant and make the kind of quick movements you need to make on the court?
DS: “Yeah, definitely. Right now it’s not even August yet, I have two more months and right now I’m almost ready to turn that corner and take it home. Right now I’m still just a little bit off in my mind for where I really want to be, but it’s not that far off and I’ll definitely be ready for the season.”
Q: So if you could ballpark how close you are to coming back, where would you put it?
DS: “I think I’m about 85, 90 (per cent). I think more so it’s just the little things. The things that need to be ironed out with my leg are more so in my mind. The average fan might not even be able to see what I’m talking about but it’s more so what I need mentally to get over that hump and be ready and play how I know I can play.”
Q: What does your rehab work consist of right now?
DS: “It consists of waking up at 6 a.m., going to work out at 7 (a.m.), doing plyometrics, working on quick twitch muscles, working on first steps and things of that nature. I’m just trying to get the leg strong, doing a lot of leg movements, squats, things of that nature. At nine o’clock I do basketball, I do a lot of halfcourt-type stuff, a lot of drill work, things of that nature. After that I come back, I lift with my strength coach, and we kind of get back to doing a little bit of everything. It’s kind of redundant stuff, the same kind of deal we’re doing at seven in the morning, but I don’t think people really understand, rehab is so tedious. A lot of the times you’re doing the same thing and it can get boring if you don’t really focus on it. And then at the end I come back and work on drill work again, so really, it’s like a 7-5 job every day.”
Q: Are you playing pickup games?
DS: “Yeah, but I haven’t played pickup in a little while. What I waited to do was I’m going to pick it up in August and when August comes around then I’ll play more pickup but I purposely haven’t played as much pickup as I usually do in the summer. Not just because of the injury, but at the same time I don’t really feel like I need it the way I used to. I think I know how to play, I think I know how to keep my body in shape, I think I know how to get ready for the season and basically that’s all I’m trying to do, is make sure that with my body there’s no breakdown once the season starts.”
Q: You said earlier that physically you’re 85% back, but what about mentally- are you at a point where you can do quick movements with your knee and not worry about it?
DS: “I think I am, but I want to get better. If the season started today, yeah, I could probably play, but I want to be 100 (per cent). I want to be my 100, I don’t want to be everybody else’s 100. Like I said, 85, 90 (per cent) is probably where I’m at, but I want to be 100 (per cent) healthy. I guess only I’m going to know when that comes. Like I said, the stuff I feel like I need to do is stuff the average fan probably can’t even see, but for me I need to do a couple more things to feel that I’m 100 (per cent). But if the season was to start today I still feel like I could play. I’m not 100, like I said, I’m 85, 90, but I’ll be there, I have two more months.”
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Read the rest of Damon's interview with grizzlies.com
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