By Brandon Roy: “I don’t think medically I will ever be able to get back to 100%.”
January 26, 2011 – 8:45 am by timgunter
The Portland Trail Blazers came into the season optimistic, hoping this would be the year they finally got it all together and made a push to the playoffs. But once again, injuries to key players have slowed them on that journey and now their optimism is starting to fade. Earlier this season Greg Oden suffered yet another knee injury, had surgery, and left Portland without their number one ’07 draft for another season. Now their former NBA Rookie of the Year, Brandon Roy, has been sidelined with another knee injury as well. Roy, who has played limited minutes this season due of knee problems, will now be sidelined for the foreseeable future and it is uncertain if he will return this season or not. Last Monday, Roy had arthroscopic surgery on both his knees so it is very doubtful that he will even return this year. The Trailblazers currently sit in the eighth seed in the West and fourth in their division, which gives them a spot in the playoffs for now, but they are losing ground quickly to Memphis and Phoenix.
Brandon Roy joined 95.5 the Game in Portland to talk about what kind of prognosis the doctors have given him, at what point he knew his knees would be a problem, and what it would mean to him to get back to an All-Star level.
If he is hearing a lot of fans telling him that they are not giving up on him:
“You know our fans have been great. Since all of this knee stuff came about they have been very supportive. Everywhere I go everybody is just saying that they wish me the best and they are praying for me and people are sending a bunch of different ideas in to help me get better. They have been actually great on that side. They believe in me and it gives me a lot of encouragement to want to continue to go to rehab, to try to continue to get better and also play through some things because I want to do it for them, not just for myself.”
What kind of prognosis the doctors have given him:
“Well I don’t think medically I will ever be able to get back to 100%. The doctors do feel confident that I can get back to a high level of basketball. I don’t want to say to an all-star level because coaches boast those things every year and different guys deserve them but they do feel like I can get to that level where I can continue to help this team and produce at a high level. Now we are just trying to figure some things out to try to calm the knees down. They feel good now and the biggest thing now is going to be once I start playing basketball day-in and day-out how they feel, but I am confident that I can get back to a high level but the biggest thing is that I don’t get a ahead of myself right now and continue to take it slow and really listen to the doctors. I think in the past there was times I maybe had stepped on their toes a little bit and try to rush back but this time I am trying to be patient and really listen to them.”
At what point did he know his knees would be a problem:
“It is hard to say. I think coming into the NBA there were some questions with a few teams about my knees but I never really let it concern me. My biggest thing was whatever team was going to try and draft me I was going to try to play at a high level. Just being in the NBA I knew there were some problems there with the knees but I never read too much into it. I had the surgery I think after my second season and I was able to come back and have a great third year, so my biggest thing is that I never read too much into my knees. Right now this is a tough spot and it is something that I can get through and one day look back and say, that was something big that I overcame in my basketball career and can be really proud of.”
What it would mean to him to get back to an All-Star level:
“It would mean a lot. I was talking to my friends and family over the last weekend and I was telling them that every year I was voted to the All-Star team was special, and it was special because of different reasons. My second year being in the NBA was like, Wow, I made it to the NBA All-Star game, so fast. My third time making it I made it after having a really tough surgery and it is just so many things that you have to overcome to make an All-Star game and they are all special. To get back to that level I don’t know if it would mean more than the others one but it would be very special to be able to return back to an All-Star game. For me that is a goal to be able to play on such a level that my peers and coaches recognize me as an all-star. So my thing is just keep getting better, trying to be more patient, I think it should work out for me.”
Brandon Roy on 95.5 the Game in Portland with John Canzano (the interview starts at the 3:20 mark)
Tags: battled knee problems his whole career, Brandon Roy, decimated by injuries, injures his knee again, Portland littered with injuries, Portland Trailblazers, Will Brandon Roy ever get back to 100%
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