Kevin Ware fell to the floor after an unsuccessful block shot. The camera grabbed a close-up of the basketball player's leg — the tibia was sticking right out of the leg. World basketball has never seen a worse injury.
By that time, Ware had been playing for the Louisville Cardinals for his third season. When the point guard first got into the squad, he went out in «garbage time». Kevin was even suspended from matches for behavior and disrespect for partners.Everything changed after a frank conversation with head coach Rick Pitino. The mentor told Ware that he would be thrown out of the team if he did not take his head. The player listened and by the third season in “Louisville” became an important part of the team. the incident happened in March 2013 during the quarterfinals of the NCAA Major Collegiate League. The rivals were the team “Duke Blue Devils”, which imposed “Louisville” a serious fight. Ware in the first half of the match wanted to make a block shot.Kevin flew past the ball and landed on his right foot. The limb could not withstand the load and bent in half. Bone peeked through the skin.
Ware fell next to the Louisville bench, so teammates were the first to witness an open fracture. Someone began to back away, others closed their eyes. One of the basketball players could not restrain his emotions and began to cry. Soon, Pitino ran up to Kevin, who could not believe what was happening.
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«His bone was sticking right out of his leg. I've never seen anything like it in my 30 year basketball career. I immediately began to cheer Kevin up. But after that, you feel incredibly stupid. What words will help a person with an open fracture? — recalled the coach.
Surprisingly, the game was not cancelled. After 10 minutes, Ware was taken off the floor, and the match continued. When the point guard was «loaded» on a stretcher, he shouted to the partners:
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«Guys, I'm fine. Just win this match!»
Of course, Kevin just wanted to cheer the team up. It worked! Louisville was able to eventually win.
Ware spent two hours in the operating room. The surgeons put everything back in place, but for a long time they could not understand the cause of the fracture. It was assumed that the basketball player had problems with the structure of the bones. However, the survey results did not reveal any deviations. Experts settled on a banal accident. Kevin just landed badly on his leg at an angle, so the bones didn't hold. The next day, Kevin woke up famous. Words of support were expressed by Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, James Harden.
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"I just called Kevin. He is doing well and promises to return to the floor. I'm sure he will please us with the game more than once. I express my support to Ware. I wish strength and patience to him and his loved ones,» Bryant wrote on Twitter.
Kevin was in the hospital for several weeks. During this time, “Louisville” managed to become the winner of the NCAA. The next morning, Pitino arrived at the hospital with an assistant, taking the trophy with him. When the point guard saw the coaches in the ward, he could not hold back his tears. The basketball player even called that morning the best moment in his life.Didn't make it to the NBA
Kevin recovered for seven months and returned to the floor in November. When he first appeared in an official match, the audience greeted the player with a standing ovation. Ware was not afraid to go to the joints or take block shots. He was helped by the fact that he never watched the video of the injury.
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"This is one of those things I never want to see. It's like when you were a kid when they showed you a scary movie. My fracture is a nightmare that I never want to face again. I didn't even see a photo of the injury. I would give up all the money in the world if I was asked to look at this,» Kevin said.
