Look out boys, he’s back
VILLANOVA, Pa. – Curtis Sumpter knew his blown knee would keep him off the court. The Villanova big man didn’t realize it would keep him away from the lane, too.
After watching from the sidelines as the Wildcats enjoyed one of their best seasons ever, Sumpter found out that even a team-bonding trip to the local bowling alley was out of bounds.
“I know I can’t play basketball, but I can’t bowl,” he said. “They were like, maybe in your bowling shoes you might twist your leg. I understood about taking precautions, but I was sitting there like, ‘I can’t even bowl, let alone play basketball.’ “
Now Sumpter can wear those gaudy shoes and grab a fluorescent ball, because he’s ready to roll.
Following two operations on his left knee and nearly 18 months of rehabilitation, Villanova’s 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward is back with nothing more than a brace and scars as a reminder of all he went through.
And if anyone thinks Sumpter has lost a step after taking a medical redshirt, he’s putting the Big East on notice that he’ll be better than ever.
“I’m still going to be a beast out there,” he said.
Flipping through a media guide after a recent practice, a picture of former Wildcats stars Allan Ray, Kyle Lowry and Randy Foye — linked arm-to-arm and wearing their new NBA jerseys — instantly grabbed Sumpter’s attention.
Sumpter might have been the fourth, had it not been for the injuries. But he’d rather share a story about their new cars and lifestyles than wonder if he should have been in the snapshot.
“Everybody has their moments,” Sumpter said. “I’m waiting for my turn to come.”
It’s taking longer than the easygoing native from Brooklyn expected.
After a solid year as sophomore, Sumpter blossomed the next season with the rest of the Wildcats.
Villanova broke an NCAA tournament dry spell in 2005 and the versatile Sumpter earned second-team All-Big East honors. He averaged 15.3 points and was the Wildcats’ leading rebounder as their only formidable post presence.
Sumpter also could swing out and play from the perimeter, shooting 43 percent from 3-point range (39 for 90).
But Sumpter’s career took a troubling detour in the NCAA tournament. Only 12 minutes into a game against Florida, Sumpter tumbled twice to the floor and clutched his left knee. He had torn his ACL.
After a rigorous and accelerated offseason rehabilitation program, Sumpter proclaimed himself fit to play his senior season. But he tore the ACL again after an awkward landing on a routine layup in a preseason practice.
“My body didn’t accept it. It was a donor ligament,” Sumpter said. “Everything has his risks. That was the risk. The chances were so small, you know?”
So while the Wildcats went 28-5 and shared the Big East championship, Sumpter could only watch. His vocal support was appreciated and coach Jay Wright moved him down the bench so he could be closer to the starters and coaches.
In an odd twist, Sumpter’s injury forced the Wildcats to play with a unique four-guard lineup that confounded opponents and sent three starters to the NBA.
Maybe Sumpter could have been the impact player in the post that would have won them a championship. Instead, the Wildcats lost as No. 1 seed to Florida with a trip to the Final Four at stake.
“I think things could have been a little different, but we don’t know,” he said. “I try not to think about it. I hear about it a lot, but I don’t think about it.”
Sumpter kept holding on to a faint hope he could play, waiting until late February before taking a medical redshirt.
“If it wasn’t for coach Wright and my parents drilling it in my head, telling me that it wasn’t a smart decision, I probably would have done it,” Sumpter said. “I know how special those guys are and what they meant to me.”
Sumpter earned a sociology degree in May and is enrolled in criminal justice classes for graduate school.
“(Sociology) was all about why things happen,” Sumpter said. “It can be applied to anything.”
Like why was he was hurt twice?
“Oh, I don’t know, man,” he said, laughing. “I don’t think about that one. That’s for the man upstairs.”
Instead, it was more of the same mundane routine. Class. Ice. Whirlpool. Practice. Nothing that ever counted in the standings.
“I can’t wait for the season to start so I can just play,” Sumpter said.
Sumpter said he felt like a freshman on the first day of practice, and has been counting the days until the Saturday opener at Northwood and former Villanova coach Rollie Massimino.
Sumpter was held out of one practice this week after banging knees with a Wildcats teammate. But Wright said Sumpter was cleared to start the season without the cumbersome knee brace.
“You can see that his timing is off a little bit, but in the same sense I can see that he’s becoming a dominant player consistently every day,” Wright said. “I want him to play confident.”
Sumpter noticed he’s been pegged as a potential second-round NBA draft pick after hearing he was a certain first-round lock heading into last season. He insists he doesn’t care about projections right now; instead, he’s focused on enjoying his final, and hopefully healthy, season with the Wildcats.
“I can only live right now in the moment. I’m still a college kid,” the 22-year-old Sumpter said. “If I start thinking about the NBA and stuff like that, it will only mess things up.
“I just want things to go smooth.”