Deaundra Young on rebound after unusual surgery
Saturday, October 16, 2010 | Women's Basketball, Football, Scott Carter
Freshman forward Deaundra Young arrived at UF with solid credentials on the basketball court.
Young led Titusville Astronaut to the 2009 Class 4A state championship and the 2010 Class 4A regional final. She was rated the second-best prospect in the state last season by ESPN's HoopGurlz. Both her parents – Betty Hutchinson and Stacy Young – played basketball at Astronaut High.
I haven't seen Young play yet, so I can't provide much insight into what Gator fans should expect when Young takes a pass down low on the block. What I can tell you is that Young is a good sport.
At the UF women's basketball media day on Wednesday, Young instantly became a favorite subject for reporters when Gators coach Amanda Butler informed us that Young underwent an unusual surgery over the summer.
If you've never heard of bilateral hidradenitis suppurativa, you're probably not alone. It's a chronic inflammatory disease of the sweat glands. In Young's case, masses often formed in the sweat glands underneath her arms.
“It was really, really painful,'' she said. “I experienced it probably 10 to 12 times, and they finally decided to just do surgery so that I wouldn't have to go through that while I'm in college.''
Young underwent surgery on June 1 and for several weeks had to rest in bed on her back as her wounds healed. She finally took her first shots on a basketball court since the surgery on Tuesday, making all four.
“Her range of motion in her arms has been limited, so she's been practicing since everybody else has been practicing, but not really able to rebound and reach above her head, and has not been able to shoot,'' Butler said. “Deaundra has just tremendous feel for the game. I am really proud of how mentally tough she has been during a really tough start.''
After the first wave or reporters quizzed Young about her surgery – tossing in a few arm pit and deodorant jokes along the way – another wave followed.
Young, just a few months removed from high school, never passed on a question about her unusual surgery. She handled the attention like a savvy veteran.
