Despite A Career-Threatening Injury, Adam Allen Presses On
Saturday, October 23, 2010 | Men's Basketball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Adam Allen has a dream scenario tucked away somewhere in a corner of his psyche.
The dream goes something like this: Allen wakes up one morning, steps out of bed, and his left leg feels like it did two years and three surgeries ago. Allen then shows up at practice for the Gators men's basketball team and joins his teammates for a grueling practice.
He runs up and down the court pain-free, flinging 3-pointers and fighting through screens the way he used to. With his teammates and head coach Billy Donovan in awe, Allen drives to the basket, dishes out assists, and basically does all the things he used to do.
Most importantly, Allen doesn't give a second thought to his surgically repaired left knee.
“You never know what can happen,'' Allen said recently as his teammates were about to start practice. “What else am I going to do? I'm not just going to quit. I'm not a quitter. Never have been, never will be. That's not me
“I'm just going to show up here every day, rehab my butt off and try to get healthy and do what I can to help the team.''
A 6-foot-8, 222-pound forward, Allen arrived on UF's campus at the same time as teammate Chandler Parsons, his closest friend on the team. As a freshman, Allen played in all 36 games, finishing second on the team by shooting 42 percent from behind the 3-point line.
The future he had always dreamed about appeared within reach. Allen's father, former Florida State standout Randy Allen, played in the NBA and professionally overseas for several years when Adam was a kid. He envisioned a similar path.
“I used to run around the house in his basketball shoes,'' Adam said.
And then, on Oct. 24, 2008 in an otherwise non-descript scrimmage at the Florida Basketball Practice Facility, Allen's left knee popped. He felt some minor pain. The pain hung around a few days, forcing Allen to take a break from basketball for the first time in his life.
“I never missed a game in high school,'' he said. “I've never really been an injury-prone guy. It was hard the first year, especially not knowing. I was thinking after my initial injury that I would be playing in like six weeks.''
At first, Allen was diagnosed with a MCL sprain, then a bone bruise. Several weeks later, as he sat and watched from the bench during his sophomore season, Allen had his left knee scoped.
The pain wouldn't go away, forcing Allen to redshirt. Several months later, still searching for a way to play without pain, Allen underwent a procedure called medial reefing to keep his knee in place and prevent it from moving side to side.
The procedure didn't help. Allen's knee had extensive tissue damage. Doctors told him that his basketball career was over.
“It's just a rare injury,'' Allen said.
As he sat out for the second consecutive season last year, Allen traveled to the Andrews Institute in Birmingham, Ala., in November for one final attempt to resurrect his career.
To alleviate some of the discomfort in Allen's left knee, doctors inserted screws and metal plates in his shin to help loosen a tendon. Allen returned to Gainesville and slowly began the rehab process, watching as his teammates made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years.
Over the summer, Allen was hopeful he might finally play again.
“It was an intense surgery,'' he said. “Three months ago I was thinking, 'Alright, it's feeling really good. I'll probably be able to come back and do something this year.' But it really hasn't gotten much better since then.”
As his teammates gathered in the gym at UF's practice facility last week, Allen headed to the trainer's room for more treatment. If the story had gone the way Allen hoped, he would be entering his senior season and sharing the court with Parsons, his roommate for three years.
Instead, Allen can only watch and knows that he has probably played his last game for the Gators.
“He has busted his tail trying to get back,'' Parsons said. “It's just unfortunate that it hasn't been a speedy recovery for him. He has been through a lot. I really respect him for what he has done. Even if he doesn't make a comeback, I still think he will be a critical part of our team.''
At practice, Allen offers encouragement to his teammates. He is trying to set a good example in dealing with adversity. He doesn't know what he'll do after leaving UF, but he doesn't regret his decision to come to Florida instead of following in his dad's footsteps and going to Florida State.
Parsons can only imagine how hard the past two years have been for his good friend. If he sees Allen struggling with his situation, he'll try to get his mind off it by telling a joke or changing the subject. For the most part, Allen has coped as well as one could expect.
“I think he has grown up a lot,'' Parsons said. “He realizes that maybe he is not going to compete at this level again. I think he is starting to understand that. Our guys on the team look at him like another coach. He's going to be here.''
The one-year anniversary of Allen's last surgery is quickly approaching. When the Gators open the exhibition season on Thursday against Florida Tech, Allen will only be able to watch.
The dream scenario is looking less and less likely, so Allen has embraced a different scenario.
“If I can go to Southwest [Recreation Center] and play a pick-up game and live a normal life, that will definitely be a victory for me,'' he said. “That's basically what I'm shooting for right now. If a miracle happens where I'm able to come back and start getting back in shape and feeling great … I mean, there have been stranger things that have happened.
“The shot is still there. It hasn't gone anywhere.”
