CANYON HOOPSTER RETURNS\Injured senior shows unbreakable spirit.Byline: Lee Barnathan Special to the Daily News The joke is this: Don't hit Canyon High School's Larry Phillips There are several people named Larry Phillips:
Given Phillips' recent history, that might not be too far from true. What might have been a stellar high school career instead became extended stays on the sideline with various injuries. The coaching staff has to catch itself every time a member dreams - What if he had been healthy? Yet every time he sat out, Phillips returned, only to get hurt again. Then he would return for a time, get hurt again, come back, get hurt - the cycle seemed endless. Quitting has never entered his mind despite the broken toe, foot, hand and injured finger and knee. "I haven't had an injury that's gonna make me gonna quit," he said. "I only broke four bones in a three-year period. It comes with the territory." He hopes this recent return, Tuesday night in the Foothill League opener, will be the last time he has to make a comeback. Time is running out for this senior. He still wants to play collegiate ball, either at a junior college or at an NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III
Division III (or DIII) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States. school, in part because he likes the camaraderie of the team. Others have said his long arms, low body fat, speed and jumping ability make him a natural to play the game. But his slew of injuries is not natural. "I'm sick of sitting out. It kind of gets on my nerves," he said. "I love basketball. I'm not gonna let anything stop me." His team wants him back, too. "Never have I had a guy with so many injuries to begin with," said coach Greg Hayes. "Usually, guys don't have a recurring history." "It's been unfortunate for him. He just can't get a lucky break with his body," teammate Louis Moore said, no pun intended. "He can't quit. He's a tough guy. I don't ever see him quitting." But Phillips has had his share of breaks. Ask Moore if he knows all of the injuries and he answers, "How far back do you want to go?" In seventh grade, Phillips was playing against Greg Minor Greg Magado Minor (born September 18, 1971 in Sandersville, Georgia) is an American former NBA basketball player. Having averaged 12.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in three seasons at the University of Louisville, Minor was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers as the , who went on to become his teammate at Canyon and rewrote the record book with his scoring and 3-point shooting. Minor fell on Phillips' foot and chipped a bone. Phillips was out three weeks. If that had been the only injury, no one would be saying now what Hayes said: "It's unfortunate, but the difficult point is the perception that he's injury prone." Indeed. In 10th grade, the heel of former teammate Charles Woodard hit Phillips' toe and pushed it back in the shoe, breaking it. He was out for the rest of the season. Toward the end of the school year, current teammate Mark Quest was nagging him at practice. When Quest started poking Phillips, Phillips hit Quest in the shoulder. But he broke a bone in his hand in the process. He was out until Aug. 1 and then came down with strep throat Strep Throat Definition Streptococcal sore throat, or strep throat as it is more commonly called, is an infection of the mucous membranes lining the pharynx. Sometimes the tonsils are also infected (tonsillitis). . While recovering, he was shooting baskets at the Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Athletic Club with Quest and a third person. He went for a layup, only to be hammered by the third guy. He landed on his back, and his kneecap kneecap (patella), saucer-shaped bone at the front of the knee joint; it protects the ends of the femur, or thighbone, and the tibia, the large bone of the foreleg. The kneecap is embedded in the tendon tissue of the quadriceps femoris, a large thigh muscle. was in his thigh. Doctors said Phillips had torn his patella patella (pətĕl`ə): see kneecap. tendon in the knee. It was the only injury he calls serious, and it sidelined him for his entire junior season. He tried to play in a late-season game against Hart, but he strained a hamstring going up for a ball. His leg was still too weak, he said. He let it heal, and he was ready to resume his career. It was June 1995. He was performing a drill and caught the ball wrong, spraining his wrist. Or so he thought. Eventually, doctors found he had fractured another bone in his hand. This season, he started healthy and played in the season-opening Saugus Tournament. He dislocated dis·lo·cate tr.v. dis·lo·cat·ed, dis·lo·cat·ing, dis·lo·cates 1. To put out of usual or proper place, position, or relationship. 2. a finger and had not played since until Tuesday night. There was talk he had a calcium deficiency calcium deficiency Inadequate supply or metabolism of calcium, the main structural element of bones and teeth. Its metabolism is regulated by vitamin D, phosphorus, and hormones (see parathyroid gland). . It was checked. He didn't have one. However, he did have faith that he would always return. "I don't have a negative outlook," he said. "My knee, that really messed me up. . . . I have to make do with what I've got." CAPTION(S): PHOTO Photo Although Canyon High School Canyon High School can refer to:
* It does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by citing reliable sources. * It needs to be expanded. Please help [ improve the article] or discuss these issues on the talk page. , his love of basketball won't let him quit. David Crane/Daily News |
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