Cole Huff played through the rest of 2015-16 with a knee injury. Offseason surgery hopes to get him ready for 2016-17. (Streur / WBR) CLICK TO BUY
With the first official practice now just about one month away Creighton senior forward Cole Huff is entering the stretch run of his rehabilitation from the knee surgery that has sidelined him since the end of last season.
The transfer from Nevada averaged 11.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game during his first season in Omaha, including a career-high 35 points in his Madison Square Garden debut against eventual Big East Tournament champion, Seton Hall.
The Bluejays missed out on an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, but advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Tournament before ending their season with an 88-82 loss at BYU. Afterwards, it was straight to surgery for Huff to repair the right knee that had hampered both his ability to practice on a consistent basis and perform at a high level in games.
“They went in and cleaned up my meniscus, which I had a few problems with back in high school and earlier in college,” Huff said. “Then when they were in there they found a few other things — they did a micro-fracture, which means they basically punch holes into your leg to create blood and cartilage to stop the bone on bone that was happening. So they fixed that and that really set me back, but I think we got it all taken care of now.”
“I’m feeling good. Obviously, I’ve had a long time since our last game, almost five and a half months now, so I’ve had a lot of time to rest and recover. I’m still maybe a month or so away before I can get back and try some things.”
After surgery, Huff was on crutches for about six weeks before he began his rehab program. Whether he was on campus in Omaha or back home in California, he worked tirelessly on his physical therapy. Now, he’s at the point where he can see the end of the tunnel and start visualizing himself being back on the court preparing for his final season as a college basketball player.
“It’s getting closer and closer to the time period they gave me, which was six to seven months, but obviously we’re going to take things slow and make sure we’re ready for the season,” Huff said.
“It’s been a little bit difficult, but this is my third surgery on my knee, so I kind of know how the rehab process goes and physical therapy. Like I’ve told people before, the physical therapy part is the easy part. Anybody can have surgery and go to the doctor and go see a trainer, but it’s getting back onto the basketball court and getting your timing, your explosion, and being able to do things that you weren’t able to do. That’s going to be the hard part, but I think I’m starting to shift gears towards that process now, so I’m excited.”
Huff almost seemed unstoppable down the stretch including a 35 point explosion against Seton Hall in the Big East Tournament (Streur / WBR) CLICK TO BUY
The aforementioned performance against Seton Hall was one of a few highs that Huff experienced during the 2015-2016 season. He struggled mightily through the end of January, averaging 9.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 40.0% from the field and 33.0% from beyond the arc. He kicked up a notch for the stretch run, however, putting up 14.1 points per game, including a 28-point performance against DePaul at the beginning of February where he converted on each of his first seven field goal attempts. His rebounding also increased to nearly seven boards per game. He also shot 48.1% from the field and 40.5% from 3-point range during the span covered the final month and a half of the season.
That stretch gave Altadena, California native the confidence that not only could he play well at this level, but that he could do so under any kind of condition.
“Towards the end of the season — I think maybe the last four or five games or so — I really started to play a lot better,” Huff said. “When we went to New York and I had that game I think I just proved to myself that I can play through injuries, and through whatever is going on just to see what kind of surgery I had after the season. There is no reason I should ever have an excuse — when I’m healthy or even somewhat healthy — to not perform to the best of my abilities, because I know I can do it.”
“It really helped me mentally, and I’m just looking forward to getting back on the court. At the end of the season we were playing a little bit better, but we lost a few too many games towards the end. That’s going to be the big thing going into the season is taking one game at a time and trying to build up.”
As a fifth-year senior, Huff will be expected to be an even bigger leader, but is up for the challenge (Spomer / WBR) CLICK TO BUY
As far as building himself up, all of that time off his feet this offseason didn’t go to waste. He spent a lot of time lifting weights and improving his upper body strength. And while he is looking noticeably bigger these days, he jokes that not all of the increased mass upstairs is solid muscle.
“Specifically the first month or two months when I was just on crutches all I could do was lift weights, so I put on quite a few pounds,” Huff said. “I haven’t been able to run and workout as much as I’d like to obviously with the knee, so I haven’t been able to sweat. I’ve put on quite a few pounds, which can be good and can be bad. Obviously I’ve gotten a lot stronger, but I think once I get back out there on the court I’ll probably lose 5-10 pounds of just body weight that I put on. That little extra fat will wear off, so I think I’ll be all right.”
Now that the players are all back in town for the start of class this week, Huff can’t help but feel like the old man on the team as he looks around at some of the younger faces on the team.
“I feel like a veteran or an old guy with this being my fifth year in college,” he said. “We have guys coming in like Davion [Mintz] who was 17 when he got here and I was 22 — it was like playing basketball with someone my sister’s age.”
With practice set to begin at the end of September, he’s prepared to make the most of his time already spent at this level, as well as the few moments he has remaining, to help lead the Bluejays back to the Big Dance after a two-year hiatus.
“It’s going to be a totally different experience,” Huff says. “With me being one of the four seniors on the team we have a lot more expectations on ourselves to help lead this group, and get back to winning games and get back to the NCAA Tournament. It’s going to be fun. It’s a different role, but I think I’m a little more mature as a player and as an individual, and I’m ready to take that on.”