Anyone that saw the Gophers' loss to Dayton tonight probably has their stomach in knots after seeing Trevor Mbawke go down with a right knee injury. When I first saw that he was the player on the ground holding his knee, I was just hoping he was banged up a little and would be able to get up in walk it off. As I continued to watch, I knew that was not going to be the case. Mbakwe was helped off the court and could not put any weight on his leg. He began trying to, but you could just see the pain in his face. When you look at the tears, you had to wonder, is he crying because he's in pain, or because he knows this is a season ending injury? Trevor returned to the bench with crutches, and had just buried his face in a towel, so everyone could not see his sadness. Being the consummate teammate, as always, I actually saw him applauding his teammates while being covered in the towel. He only remained on the bench for a short time, and when he left, he crutched over to his teammates to give the high fives and encouraging words. The Gophers did not just lose their best player, and one of the best players in the Big 10, but they lost their leader and the heart of the team. Even off the court, he's tweeted:
"Lord please get me through this"
"Thanks everyone for your prayers. I really appreciate it the support. Tough times don't last but tough ppl do."
"Minor setback for a MAJOR comeback."
This is a guy that is still motivating the team and the fans.
Photo courtesy of the Associated Press/Reinhold Matay
If you had been on Twitter during this time, you would have guessed that Mbakwe just died, as everyone voiced their well wishes for him and a recovery. I don't think I've ever cared less about the outcome of a game, and more about a player that I did today. It reminded me of when JB Bickerstaff was injured for his senior year, after being injured his junior year as well. However, that doesn't even compare to today. When you look at Mbakwe, he is a man that has been through so many up's and downs in his Gopher and basketball career. He has already been through injury when he was at Marquette his freshman year (on his left kneed that time). He was forced to sit out an entire year when coming to Minnesota, who many think was very unfair, including myself. Now, he returned to the Gophers, passing up the chance of going pro last year, and he could have incurred a season ending injury. Through all this, he has not lost a step. After he sat out for a year, he came back bigger and stronger. He is the leader of the team, and is our most consistent player. He is also on track to graduate next month with his degree. On top of that, he's a dedicated father and boyfriend, who I'm sure, wanted to be able to support his family next year. That's what makes these even tougher to stomach.
Now what? Well, we wait for the results of his MRI. We can all hope for the best, but expect the worse….that's what I've come accustomed to doing as a Gopher fan. So, what happens if Mbakwe is out for the season? The Mo Walker situation comes into play. How ready is he to come back? I know that sitting him for the season to heal was a good option a few hours ago, but now, if there's anyway we can play, we need him. After Colton Iverson transferred last year, I remember thinking that we were one injury away from being in big trouble, I just never knew how bad it could be if that injury was Mbakwe's.
