Patriots lose valuable shooting guard with possible MCL strain
MADISON — Bob Jones sophomore shooting guard Corban Johnson dribbled the basketball near the Patriots bench with a Mae Jemison defender hovering near him.
It was Friday night at the Bob Jones gym and the Patriots were leading 53-46 with 1:27 to play in the fourth quarter of the game.
Johnson made a quick move to dart away from the defensive pressure when his right knee buckled sickeningly, and the Patriot crumpled to the hardwood grabbing his leg.
“It was late in the game, and they were pressing up a lot trying to get a steal and I kind of drove past him and he kind of beat me to the spot, so I tried to stop, and I just felt my knee just fully extend and everything caved in,” Johnson said.
The sophomore writhed in pain grabbing his right knee as the crowd fell into a concerned hush.
“As I was laying on the ground, I felt everything swell up and you could feel it tighten on the inside. It was sending a tingling feeling down into my foot.”
Johnson slapped the court in frustration as the trainer came over to investigate the severity of his injury.
The initial thoughts from the trainer, according to Johnson, were that it looks like an MCL strain which is far better news compared to the dreaded Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) tear or an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear that would require surgery and end his season.
This knee injury is the third incident with the same right knee for the multisport athlete Johnson who has also dealt with a bone contusion and a hyperextension eight months ago.
“Hopefully it is just something strained in there and he will be back in a week or so,” Bob Jones head coach Bryant Starkey said.
“We’ll need him for area play. We start area play next week.”
Johnson had scored six points in the game including a buzzer-beater 3-point shot to close the third quarter on a high note for Bob Jones.
The sophomore picked himself up off the court and he hopped on his left leg to the training table behind the bench to receive treatment as the game resumed play.
“I love all my teammates to death,” Bob Jones junior Kaden Rickard said.
“It was big when he went down. He is huge for us in late-game situations to knock shots down. It is definitely a big hit, but things happen, and we have got to finish games either way and I’m hoping he is ok.”
The Patriots were able to hold off Mae Jemison 57-50 in a game that had some close moments.
For a complete breakdown of the contest including more Bob Jones player comments, be sure to pick up a print copy of the Madison Record on Wednesday, January 10.
