By Leigh Dethman
“HC #50″
Those small letters inspired the Cougar women”s basketball team to climb all the way into the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Championships.
Every player on last season”s team had the phrase “HC #50” written on athletic tape and placed on their jerseys. That small expression represented an injured teammate, junior Heather Cheesman.
In the middle of last season, Cheesman dove for a loose ball during practice and hit her head.
“She just laid there. I thought she got knocked out. I wasn”t really that scared until they brought the stretcher in,” said senior teammate Chanell Rose.
“She just kept lying there. The injury was such a freak thing.”
A spokesperson for the team said Cheesman sustained severe neck and back injuries.
The spokesman said doctors believe Cheesman should never play basketball again. The danger is too high for possible paralysis.
“We consulted three doctors and they all agreed that it was best not to play this season,” head coach Jeff Judkins said.
Rose said although Heather feels fine, doctors advised that she not play because the risk of paralysis is too high.
“Heather can”t play now, and she loves it so much,” said Rose. “We all play a little bit for her.”
According to Judkins, Heather was the best shooter on the team last season. She averaged 3.9 points in only 8.4 minutes per game.
“Heather does the little things for everybody. She has so much experience,” Judkins said.
“Hopefully she will stay around this season. We want her leadership qualities.”
Cheesman said she hasn”t decided what her participation with the team will be this year.
“This experience has been really hard,” Cheesman said. “There is nothing else to say, it is just hard.”
Cheesman was not the only inspiration to last year”s squad.
Shauna Tuft was involved in a life-threatening car crash on Oct. 21, 2001.
“My brother and I were driving home to Arizona. The back tire blew and we rolled about four or five times,” Tuft said.
She suffered multiple broken bones, including several vertebrae in her neck. She also punctured both of her lungs. Tuft was reportedly in a coma for two days.
Tuft wasn”t able to be on the court for the majority of the team”s successful season.
“The accident was about right when our season started. I was able to attend Midnight Madness, and the wreck was about the very next weekend,” Tuft said.
After the accident, Tuft was forced to withdraw from her fall classes and she spent the rest of the semester in Arizona rehabilitating her injuries.
“It was so difficult. You can”t go from the transition of a fast-paced college student athlete to a completely vulnerable patient in the hospital,” said Tuft.
“I was helpless.”
Rose said that Tuft was a true inspiration for the team.
“More than anything, I know that she personally inspired me.”
“Having this happen was the scariest thing ever because Shauna was so far away,” Rose said. “We couldn”t do anything.”
Every day before practice the team would receive updates on Tuft”s condition.
“The day Shauna walked back into practice was inspiring. She was my hero,” Rose said.
“I guarantee she made our team that much better from seeing how she overcame that.”
Judkins said he will miss Tuft”s presence on the team this year.
“Shauna knew exactly what I needed from her. It will be hard not having her on the team this year.”
Tuft said she will not participate in practices this season.
“I”ll come to the games and sit in the stands,” Tuft said. “It is just easier that way.”
Rose said everyone contributed to the success of last year”s team.
“Everyone played a different part in our season last year, not just those that played on the court. Heather and Shauna inspired us,” Rose said.
Rose is going through a hard time of her own. Her knee injury forced her to sit out this season as a medical redshirt.
Rose started 18 games for the Cougars last season.
“When I play, my knee gets all swollen and it kills me,” said Rose. “I can”t even walk the next day.”
According to Rose, all of the cartilage on the outside of her knee is gone.
“The way my leg is lined up it that it puts pressure on the outside of my knee,” said Rose. “It has completely torn the cartilage up.”
Rose will undergo an osteotomy.
According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the surgeon will reshape the femur to improve Rose”s knee”s alignment.
The healthy bone and cartilage will be realigned to compensate for the damaged tissue.
The surgery will allow Rose”s knee to carry weight evenly.
Rose missed numerous practices last season because of the injury.
“I would practice only about half of the time,” Rose said.
“The team would tease that there was a watermelon in my knee. It would just get huge. It is really painful.”
Rose said this experience has been one of the hardest in her life.
“It is like your whole life has been taken out from under you.”
Rose said her philosophy of life is that if you want something, you just have to work hard and eventually you will get it.
“I never thought I wouldn”t play. I just figured that I would play because I wanted it bad enough.”
Rose said it is hard knowing that basketball is out of her control.
“This is just something I”m going to have to accept,” said Rose. “It goes against my whole philosophy of life.”
The Cougars don”t need to look far for inspiration. The team is in the midst of heroes.
Tuft and Cheesman have survived life-threatening ordeals.
Rose will support the team all season, rehabilitating the knee in hopes of returning next season.
“Hard things make you better. These experiences were some of the hardest things we”ve had to go through,” Rose said.
“Each experience brought us closer. Without these girls, I don”t think our team would have even came close to going as far as we did last year.”
Rose said the injuries really put basketball into perspective for the team.
“We all know that it could all end just so easy,” Rose said.
