There’s a long way to go in the season, but Deerfield’s Drew Rodgers can already consider it a rousing success.
Simply being on the court is a win for the 6-foot-7 senior center, who had major knee surgery a year ago.
“There were a lot of ups and downs, but it’s pretty cool to see where I’m at,” Rodgers said. “It still feels a little weird coming back to play. But I’m just committed to giving 100% of my effort.”
That alone is beneficial to the Warriors (5-3, 1-1). But as Rodgers shakes off the rust — he averaged 2.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 block in his first seven games — he could be a game-changer in the Central Suburban South while playing alongside 6-8 junior forward Jake Pollack.
“Most teams only have one big, but with me back, teams either have to guard me or Jake,” Rodgers said. “If there’s a double team in the post, you know the other player is open, and it also creates good passing lanes to kick out for a 3-pointer.”
Talking X’s and O’s is much different than the recovery lingo that dominated Rodgers’ life since his surgery on Dec. 8, 2023. It came less than two weeks after he suffered a torn ACL, a partially torn meniscus and damage to the lateral collateral ligament during a game against Warren.
Rodgers said he knew something was wrong immediately.
“I went to jump to try to get a rebound, and as I went up, I felt a pop,” he said. “As I was lying there on the ground, I definitely had a feeling it was my ACL.”
The early stages of recovery were most difficult for Rodgers, largely due to his lack of mobility. But he pledged to go through it with a positive attitude.
“The first two weeks, I was just lying in bed,” he said. “I was sad, and with finals coming up, that made it even worse. But one Sunday the whole team came over and surprised me. They brought lox and bagels and cream cheese, and we had brunch in my room.”
Rodgers’ slow, incremental progress led to walking, climbing stairs, light jogging, running and finally to open gym workouts in October. Seeing him on the court with his teammates was uplifting for everyone.
“I’ve been amazed that the enthusiasm he’s had has never gone away, even back last winter when he was hobbling over to get water for guys,” Deerfield coach Dan McKendrick said. “Throughout it all, I never saw him not have a smile on his face.
“He’s told me multiple times that he’s just happy to be playing.”
Rodgers said he focused on the future after the injury.
“I was lucky, first of all, that I had another year left to prove myself, and it happened early in the season,” he said. “Seeing the positive in it made the journey back to recovery easier. I found the good things in the bad.”
Rodgers’ ups and downs haven’t completely subsided. He sat out Deerfield’s 46-40 win against Evanston on Thursday and hasn’t had the same scoring punch he had before the injury.
“Scoring isn’t the same, but not playing for nine months makes it not easy to get back to playing like I used to,” Rodgers said. “There’s still a mental block where even the slightest amount of pain makes me wonder if something is wrong and makes it hard to push it.
“It’ll come back. It just takes time.”
Even without the scoring, Rodgers’ presence is felt, partly because his body is stronger than it was before the injury.
“He’s more physical and aggressive this year, doing a lot of rebounding and making plays down low,” Deerfield senior point guard Quinn Schimanski said. “He’s worked really hard and has been grinding to get back playing with his teammates. He really deserves this.”
Rodgers is savoring all of it too.
“After wins, when we’re in the locker room breaking it down, we clap for how many wins we have,” he said. “Celebrating wins with the team is always a great feeling, and I really think we can be good.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
