Credit to Taylor Griffin

Senior Champ Pauley with David Beger dribbles during basketball practice. This year, the coaches are putting an emphasis on full court pressure, fast-paced offence, defense and overall being the fastest and strongest. Practices involve many drills such as running drills. This goes along with the coaches wanting to condition the players well and overall be more disciplined this year.

Senior Champ Pauley is making his long-awaited comeback to the basketball court after a long journey with an ACL injury.

Pauley has been playing basketball since the fifth grade. After transferring schools, Pauley planned to play basketball at North. Unfortunately, during the 2023 football season, injury struck Pauley.

On Sept. 29, 2023, the Knights faced Francis Howell Central in a varsity football match. Pauley was running up to tackle an opposing player when the unexpected occurred.

“I was coming down to tackle the guy and I hyper extended my leg and I felt a pop,” Pauley said. “I didn’t think it was anything crazy. I mean, stuff happens when you’re playing sports, but I felt it again, like two plays later and it was enough to make me fall down.”

Pauley had torn his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). This ligament connects the thighbone and shinbone at the knee. The ACL cannot heal on their own. Instead, it requires surgery along with months of extensive rehabilitation for the knee.

Two weeks after the game, Pauley went through with ACL reconstruction surgery. 10 full months of recovery later, Pauley’s long-awaited varsity basketball debut has come.

“I’m excited,” Pauley said. “I’m excited to show everyone that I’m back at 100 percent. I just hope I make a good impression with the comeback.”

Pauley’s recovery didn’t come without any hiccups. He was eager to go back to playing but advised not to. Disregarding the intended recovery time, he went back to playing.

“Two months before they even cleared me to play I thought I was ready, and I’d play basketball on the side and it just wouldn’t feel as comfortable,” Pauley said. “Then, I realized that maybe I’m not so ready as I thought I was.”

Despite this optimism, Pauley wasn’t exactly doubt-free. He was afraid. Afraid of his comeback not being his best performance or up to his standards.

“My biggest fear was me not knowing if I would be back at my 100 percent,” Pauley said.

But, Pauley was committed. He committed to getting better and further improving. He had nothing stopping him. Pauley attributes his recovery to his mindset.

“I just kept believing that I would get better and going with the flow,” Pauley said. “I just had to be patient with the wait. Once they told me the recovery was 9-10 months, I just said, ‘Okay, I just got to work hard these nine months to get back to how I was and even better.”

Since Pauley has come back to basketball, he hasn’t noticed any physical difficulties in his performance. But, he’s had to accommodate his play style to his specific needs.

“I just got to get used to it,” Pauley said. “At tryouts, everything was like a first time. I actually jumped off the bad leg, and it’s kind of normal now, but I’m gonna be smart about what I do. I’m not even just gonna do whatever. For example, if I can use my other leg and other the bad leg in situations, I’m gonna avoid using a bad leg, but right now just be more a little bit more cautious, little bit more smart.”

The last time Pauley played on a school basketball team was sophomore year. Even though this causes some pressure, Pauley’s mindset washes the feelings away.

“I feel a little bit of pressure,” Pauley said. “I’m just going with the flow. I try to not think of my injury as a big break and more of a setback instead, like, something I can move through.”

Pauley went through heaps of challenges because of the injury. He went through a long recovery process, made mistakes, withstood mental battles and adapted to new challenges. Pauley gives advice to those in similar situations to him.

“Be patient with the wait and keep on working hard, but don’t rush anything,” Pauley said. “Just keep on believing that you’re going to be back to how you were.”