Healed But Hurting
December 17, 2004 03:52 PM | General
December 17, 2004
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| McGee |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- A different kind of noise has befallen the WVU Coliseum in recent months and it hasn’t been coming from any of the facility upgrades the venue has been receiving during its recent facelift.
No, this sound has a distinct beat pounding about once a second, sometimes more, depending on the current practice regime WVU women’s basketball coach and reigning BIG EAST coach of the year Mike Carey has his squad undertaking.
That constant sound that pounds is the big heart of senior forward Ramika McGee. You see, most people can’t even dream about what the 6-2 native of Chattanooga, Tenn., has endured in the two years she’s been in Morgantown.
McGee has undergone ACL reconstructive surgeries in consecutive years, one on each knee. Astonishingly, she is going to play for Carey and the Mountaineers this season.
“In 20 years I’ve never had anyone suffer two ACL injuries,” Carey says. “If half our team had the heart she has to continue to battle through injuries and continue to come out and push herself we’d have a great team.
“I’ve told Ramika many times that if she just wanted to keep her scholarship, graduate and not participate in basketball that would be fine. But she wants to battle through the injuries, she wants to play. I admire Ramika for that and she is a great person.”
For McGee, her reasoning for continuing to play is quite simple.
“I love basketball,” she says as tears slowly gather in her eyes. “Basketball has always been a booster to me in my life. Anytime I’m down I’ve been able to turn to basketball. It’s what’s paying for my education. It’s not easy to give it up even with the pain I go through. Some days I feel like I can’t do this anymore but when I step out onto the court I realize I can’t give it up.”
Recruited as a highly touted junior college center and listed as one of the nation’s best for her position in 2001-02, McGee came to West Virginia to continue the success Carey had in his first year at the helm of the program. It was a greater opportunity to continue to play basketball in one of the nation’s toughest conferences.
But prior to the beginning of practice in 2002-03, McGee tore her left knee. Rehab took nearly three quarters of a year but she recovered and was ready to contribute last year. Then, during the off season, once again her right knee gave way and with it began the healing process all over again.
“I never thought I’d be in this position,” McGee says. “A lot of people take for granted what they have. In high school I always thought I could make it to the WNBA. I had never really hurt myself before I got here.”
McGee’s only injury prior to her Mountaineer career came in high school where she suffered a broken foot. Now she’s gone through two painstaking rehabilitations from separate knee surgeries in successive seasons.
Some have recommended her to think about the bigger picture as the rest of her life lies in wait once her career as a Mountaineer is over. But to McGee this is her last chance to get on the court, her last chance to be with her teammates and the last chance to return to post-season play.
“I can’t give basketball up,” she says passionately. “I’m just stubborn with it. There are days I know I shouldn’t even be out there practicing but I still go out there to keep my teammates up. I want to be a part of this team so I’m striving to be out there with them. I do what I can to help them out.
“They keep me motivated. When I’m down they pick me up. When they work hard I want to work hard. We have each other.”
When her career comes to a conclusion it might not be the last time McGee is spotted on a basketball court. The athletic coaching major hopes to be able to coach the sport she has known all her life.
“I want to coach on the college level,” she says. (Former teammate) Michelle Carter went on to coach junior college. The doors are open.”
“She’s really going to go far in life because she shows that she can battle through problems and has a huge heart,” Carey adds.
Healed but still hurting from the lingering effects of her surgeries, McGee hopes to make more noise this season on the court than her heart has made in preseason practice off it.
