Iona star A.J. English is back from a broken hand, an injury that could have turned out to be much worse.
A.J. English figures to play a prominent role Friday night when Iona College hosts Monmouth University in a pivotal MAAC showdown.
The thing is, English is lucky to be playing at all.
The Gaels were practicing last month before heading for the airport in anticipation of a Dec. 8 game at Tulsa. English appeared to dislocate a finger on his left hand, or so head coach Tim Cluess thought, as English merely popped it back in place and tried to shake it off. Iona traveled to Tulsa, English played with his left hand wrapped and scored 31 points in a 90-81 loss.
But when English removed the wrapping from his hand, Cluess described what he saw as looking like a catcher's mitt.
"I remember waking up that morning just being like, 'No, this is bad. I did something bad,' " English told the Asbury Park Press last week. "I told our trainers it was something bad. I didn't think it was broken at the time, but it was in bad shape, no doubt."
A postgame X-ray on Tulsa's campus confirmed everyone's worst fears. Six-to-eight weeks on the shelf, putting his season and that of a team zeroed in on a trip to the NCAA Tournament in doubt.
"The season was basically over," English said. "Or by the time I got back, it would be a redshirt situation or something like that."
The next morning, however, things turned. As the Gaels sat at Tulsa International Airport awaiting their flight home, the X-rays were examined by hand specialist Dr. Michelle Carlson at the Hospital For Special Surgery in New York. There wasn't great news, but certainly better news: surgery on the hand, out two to three weeks, back for the heart of the MAAC schedule.
That timetable held true. On Dec. 14, Carlson performed surgery on English's hand. Two days later, Iona announced he had undergone surgery, while calling him game-to-game. He missed five games, with the Gaels going 2-3 over that stretch, and returned when MAAC play resumed Jan. 2 vs. Quinnipiac. He has played in four games since returning, averaging 20.8 points on 45 percent shooting in 37 minutes per game.
"We thought it was going to be three or four games, to be fair, that he would start getting back into a groove again," Cluess said. "He showed some flashes (Friday night when he finished with 24 points and seven assists against Rider), but also showed some rust. Part of that is the personnel we have out there. He came back to a different team than when he left.
"We have different guys playing. Deyshonne Much isn't here. It's nice when you have Deyshonne one way, Isaiah (Williams) another and Jordan Washington inside. We have options, and teams are playing us differently because of that."
Much has since returned, and Iona is looking about as healthy as it is going to be this season. Two key members from last season's regular-season champion and MAAC Tournament finalist, senior forward Kelvin Amayo and sophomore guard Schadrac Casimir, are done for the season with injuries. The Gaels are seemingly deeper than they have been in the past, but a heavy burden will be placed on English moving forward.
The hard part for English came in between the good news from HSS and returning on Jan. 2. He worked out as much as he could, even staying behind to work out in New Rochelle when the Gaels traveled to Las Vegas for two games during Christmas week, but sitting idly has never suited English.
"It was probably one of the hardest things for me, just to sit and watch," English said. "I know I can help my team just by being out there, doing whatever they need. I was trying to be, not necessarily another coach, but be very vocal and help people out. Watching was one of the worst things in the world for me."
Sitting may have been hard, but somewhere in the back of his mind, English understands the bigger picture. Three weeks on the shelf is better than eight weeks, and five missed games is better than the whole season, a road English has been down before.
As a freshman during the 2012-13 season, English missed the final 15 games after undergoing surgery for a broken wrist. That was the last time Iona went to the NCAA Tournament, while he has was a central figure in MAAC Championship Game losses to nearby rival Manhattan each of the last two seasons. With that, it isn't hard to see what is driving English as the heart of the conference schedule arrives.
"My main focus being back now is to try and win a MAAC championship before anything," English said. "I just want to win. That's my pedestal and that's my goal. I want to win as many games as possible. I don't feel like my career would be complete if I don't help put us in a position to go to the NCAA Tournament."
A.J. English figures to play a prominent role Friday night when Iona College hosts Monmouth University in a pivotal MAAC showdown.
The thing is, English is lucky to be playing at all.
The Gaels were practicing last month before heading for the airport in anticipation of a Dec. 8 game at Tulsa. English appeared to dislocate a finger on his left hand, or so head coach Tim Cluess thought, as English merely popped it back in place and tried to shake it off. Iona traveled to Tulsa, English played with his left hand wrapped and scored 31 points in a 90-81 loss.
But when English removed the wrapping from his hand, Cluess described what he saw as looking like a catcher's mitt.
"I remember waking up that morning just being like, 'No, this is bad. I did something bad,' " English told the Asbury Park Press last week. "I told our trainers it was something bad. I didn't think it was broken at the time, but it was in bad shape, no doubt."
A postgame X-ray on Tulsa's campus confirmed everyone's worst fears. Six-to-eight weeks on the shelf, putting his season and that of a team zeroed in on a trip to the NCAA Tournament in doubt.
"The season was basically over," English said. "Or by the time I got back, it would be a redshirt situation or something like that."
The next morning, however, things turned. As the Gaels sat at Tulsa International Airport awaiting their flight home, the X-rays were examined by hand specialist Dr. Michelle Carlson at the Hospital For Special Surgery in New York. There wasn't great news, but certainly better news: surgery on the hand, out two to three weeks, back for the heart of the MAAC schedule.
That timetable held true. On Dec. 14, Carlson performed surgery on English's hand. Two days later, Iona announced he had undergone surgery, while calling him game-to-game. He missed five games, with the Gaels going 2-3 over that stretch, and returned when MAAC play resumed Jan. 2 vs. Quinnipiac. He has played in four games since returning, averaging 20.8 points on 45 percent shooting in 37 minutes per game.
"We thought it was going to be three or four games, to be fair, that he would start getting back into a groove again," Cluess said. "He showed some flashes (Friday night when he finished with 24 points and seven assists against Rider), but also showed some rust. Part of that is the personnel we have out there. He came back to a different team than when he left.
"We have different guys playing. Deyshonne Much isn't here. It's nice when you have Deyshonne one way, Isaiah (Williams) another and Jordan Washington inside. We have options, and teams are playing us differently because of that."
Much has since returned, and Iona is looking about as healthy as it is going to be this season. Two key members from last season's regular-season champion and MAAC Tournament finalist, senior forward Kelvin Amayo and sophomore guard Schadrac Casimir, are done for the season with injuries. The Gaels are seemingly deeper than they have been in the past, but a heavy burden will be placed on English moving forward.
The hard part for English came in between the good news from HSS and returning on Jan. 2. He worked out as much as he could, even staying behind to work out in New Rochelle when the Gaels traveled to Las Vegas for two games during Christmas week, but sitting idly has never suited English.
"It was probably one of the hardest things for me, just to sit and watch," English said. "I know I can help my team just by being out there, doing whatever they need. I was trying to be, not necessarily another coach, but be very vocal and help people out. Watching was one of the worst things in the world for me."
Sitting may have been hard, but somewhere in the back of his mind, English understands the bigger picture. Three weeks on the shelf is better than eight weeks, and five missed games is better than the whole season, a road English has been down before.
As a freshman during the 2012-13 season, English missed the final 15 games after undergoing surgery for a broken wrist. That was the last time Iona went to the NCAA Tournament, while he has was a central figure in MAAC Championship Game losses to nearby rival Manhattan each of the last two seasons. With that, it isn't hard to see what is driving English as the heart of the conference schedule arrives.
"My main focus being back now is to try and win a MAAC championship before anything," English said. "I just want to win. That's my pedestal and that's my goal. I want to win as many games as possible. I don't feel like my career would be complete if I don't help put us in a position to go to the NCAA Tournament."
