Even when Danny Brown was injured, when his surgically repaired knee kept him from playing or practicing, St. Louis University basketball coach Rick Majerus kept meeting with him. Majerus wanted to talk about academics and being ready for life after college. Brown kept reminding his coach he was going to play again.
"I just kept throwing it in there,'' Brown said. "I said, 'I know you want to talk about other stuff as far as me graduating. Don't forget. I'm coming back.' "
"He kept telling me he wanted to play,'' Majerus said. "I blew it off. I didn't think he'd ever play again with that knee."
That knee, the one on his left, has become the dominant factor in Brown's four seasons at SLU. It has been giving him trouble since he was a sophomore, and by last season, the spring and the bounce that previously had defined his game were long gone.
In the offseason, he had surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon, an operation that was risky for him not because something could go wrong, but because the standard recovery time is nine to 12 months. If Brown's rehab did not go smoothly, his senior season would pass him by.
Thanks to a lot of hard work, Brown was back on the court in seven months, and in the past two weeks he has started to show the speed and flash of a younger Danny Brown. In the past five games, he is averaging nine points, and his ability to get out in transition has provided a needed kick to SLU's often struggling offense.
The knee has "definitely been (feeling) better,'' he said earlier this week. "I can tell when I jump now. I had a little dunk today in practice. It's definitely getting stronger. I can see that."
Brown's recovery will be instrumental to the late-season play of SLU, which faces 13th-ranked Xavier tonight at Scottrade Center, especially because the team looks to be at its best when it is running ? and running is something Brown now can do.
Brown averaged 4.8 points a game as a freshman, but then his career flat-lined. He averaged 4.7 points as a sophomore, 4.8 as a junior. His numbers didn't go up and neither could Brown. The tendon, which was about torn about 50 percent through, robbed him of his ability to get up in the air.
"It's hard to make explosive movements when you can't jump,'' he said. "Coming out of high school, that was a major part of my game, jumping and getting to the basket. Since I've been here, I've had to redefine my game to suit my body so I could last on the court. It was really hard to move."
Brown often was held out of practice last season to give his knee a rest, and in games, he became more of a spot-up shooter. After last season, he faced a choice because treating the problem with rest was no longer an option. Dr. Lyndon Gross, the SLU team physician, told Brown he could take three to four months off to see if his knee got better or he could have surgery. But there was a chance that he wouldn't be back for the season.
"We did tests to see how severe it was, and it was worse than we thought,'' said Gross, who painted a gloomy picture for Brown. "I've seen this operation done in jumping players, and I told him I could not guarantee he'd be ready for the season. But if he didn't have it, I told him I didn't think he can play."
The optimistic Brown chose surgery. He went on an accelerated rehab program, slicing six weeks off by starting therapy two days after the operation.
"I told him I do the best job I can from a surgical standpoint," Gross said, "but his part is just as important. Danny took that to heart."
As dedicated as Brown was to his rehab ? "Danny's playing is a tribute to a kid loving the game and his individual toughness,'' Majerus said ? he still wasn't back by opening day. He returned almost three weeks later, against Kent State.
Now Brown has another problem to deal with: For the undersized Billikens, Majerus has been using the 6-4 Brown as a power forward, backing up Luke Meyer.
"It's all about heart playing down there,'' Brown said. "I'm not bigger than anybody, Luke's not bigger than anybody. We're just down there competing, fighting, trying as hard as we can."
"I just kept throwing it in there,'' Brown said. "I said, 'I know you want to talk about other stuff as far as me graduating. Don't forget. I'm coming back.' "
"He kept telling me he wanted to play,'' Majerus said. "I blew it off. I didn't think he'd ever play again with that knee."
That knee, the one on his left, has become the dominant factor in Brown's four seasons at SLU. It has been giving him trouble since he was a sophomore, and by last season, the spring and the bounce that previously had defined his game were long gone.
In the offseason, he had surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon, an operation that was risky for him not because something could go wrong, but because the standard recovery time is nine to 12 months. If Brown's rehab did not go smoothly, his senior season would pass him by.
Thanks to a lot of hard work, Brown was back on the court in seven months, and in the past two weeks he has started to show the speed and flash of a younger Danny Brown. In the past five games, he is averaging nine points, and his ability to get out in transition has provided a needed kick to SLU's often struggling offense.
The knee has "definitely been (feeling) better,'' he said earlier this week. "I can tell when I jump now. I had a little dunk today in practice. It's definitely getting stronger. I can see that."
Brown's recovery will be instrumental to the late-season play of SLU, which faces 13th-ranked Xavier tonight at Scottrade Center, especially because the team looks to be at its best when it is running ? and running is something Brown now can do.
Brown averaged 4.8 points a game as a freshman, but then his career flat-lined. He averaged 4.7 points as a sophomore, 4.8 as a junior. His numbers didn't go up and neither could Brown. The tendon, which was about torn about 50 percent through, robbed him of his ability to get up in the air.
"It's hard to make explosive movements when you can't jump,'' he said. "Coming out of high school, that was a major part of my game, jumping and getting to the basket. Since I've been here, I've had to redefine my game to suit my body so I could last on the court. It was really hard to move."
Brown often was held out of practice last season to give his knee a rest, and in games, he became more of a spot-up shooter. After last season, he faced a choice because treating the problem with rest was no longer an option. Dr. Lyndon Gross, the SLU team physician, told Brown he could take three to four months off to see if his knee got better or he could have surgery. But there was a chance that he wouldn't be back for the season.
"We did tests to see how severe it was, and it was worse than we thought,'' said Gross, who painted a gloomy picture for Brown. "I've seen this operation done in jumping players, and I told him I could not guarantee he'd be ready for the season. But if he didn't have it, I told him I didn't think he can play."
The optimistic Brown chose surgery. He went on an accelerated rehab program, slicing six weeks off by starting therapy two days after the operation.
"I told him I do the best job I can from a surgical standpoint," Gross said, "but his part is just as important. Danny took that to heart."
As dedicated as Brown was to his rehab ? "Danny's playing is a tribute to a kid loving the game and his individual toughness,'' Majerus said ? he still wasn't back by opening day. He returned almost three weeks later, against Kent State.
Now Brown has another problem to deal with: For the undersized Billikens, Majerus has been using the 6-4 Brown as a power forward, backing up Luke Meyer.
"It's all about heart playing down there,'' Brown said. "I'm not bigger than anybody, Luke's not bigger than anybody. We're just down there competing, fighting, trying as hard as we can."
