European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 24, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 32 the stars and stripes sports thursday november 24, 1994 if by Leonard Shapiro the Washington Post Sacramento Calif. It was not a particularly pleasant night to remember for Bobby Hurley. He d played Only 18 minutes for the Sacramento Kings in a listless 20-Point loss to the Portland Trail blazers last week. He scored no Points missing All his shots several at critical junctures before a frustrated sellout Home crowd at the Arco Aren watching the team s first loss of the season after two victories. ". As Hurley began to dress after a Shower the Kings second year Point guard stopped for a moment and offered a wan smile. I be got my underwear on backward he said quickly reversing his Boxer shorts. Is there anything else that could go wrong tonight maybe i better no drive pause. You know he said almost whispering the Las time i had no Points was the night of the Acci Derit the Accident though he has blocked out Many of the details of that horrifying and almost fatal night it never seems Togo away. He tries not to think about it to go on with his 23-year-old life. Yet it months later people won t let him reporters who keep asking him questions. Not sym pathetic fans he knows who wonder How he could Playa a world class level in the National basketball association Vask anyone in the Kings organization and they shake their Heads in Awe the Way general manager Geoff Petrie did a few minutes before the Portland game. It s just incredible where this kid is today just in credible Petrie said. Drive out to the intersection of Del paso Road Andel Centro Road after dark and you understand Why. There not far from the Arena the two Lane roads Meetin a crossed to surrounded by open Fields with Stop signs on every Corner. There Are deep ditches on the sides of both roads and no lamp posts to Light the Way. On the night of dec. 12, about an hour after a Gam against the los Angeles clippers Hurley was driving West on Del paso his Normal route Home. He stopped saw no one coming and rolled his Toyota sports Utility truck into the intersection to turn left on Al Centro. He never saw the 1970 Buick station Wagon Headin North on Al Centro driven by a 38-year old House Painter without a Driver s License since 1991. Witnesses said Daniel Wieland s headlights were not on. -. The Impact of the crash was so powerful that Hurley not wearing a seat Belt was thrown from the car land ing a Hundred feet away he Lay stunned in a Muddy ditch his face turned to the Side in a few inches of standing water. Face Down he could easily have drowned yet the mud and the water May Well have saved his life by cushioning his Landing. Minutes later an off duty policeman and another Motorist got to the scene and pulled Hurley from the ditch. A teammate Reserve Center Mike Peplowski happened by and covered his teammate with a Blanket before the ambulance arrived. Hurley was taken to the University of California Davis medical Center 20 minutes away. No one who saw him when he came into the emergency room can believe that mangled Young Man is now playing in the Aba. " i. When i first heard that Bobby Hurley was in there my first question was who is Bobby Hurley " said Russ Sawyer chief resident in the trauma unit that night and a Man who never had much time to follow basketball. He got the same treatment anyone else in that situation would have received. And 90 percent of the people with his injuries would have died the injuries were massive and multiple. F. Willia Blaisdell who headed the surgical team said his Chest was crushed like a tin can. His Collarbone was folded up. His Scapula shoulder was broken. All the ribs on one Side were broken. His lung was torn off the Trachea. He had a serious knee injury. We were far More concerned with him surviving the night than we were about him playing basketball again. He had what amounted to a fatal injury. Most peo pie with those injuries end up in the Coroner s office. I Felt comfortable he d survive Only after the firs week. We All held our breath until then the fact he was a Well conditioned athlete probably saved his it took eight hours of surgery that first night an several More procedures after that including plastic surgery and a shoulder operation. The Accident had also left him with a compression fracture in mid Back a damaged left wrist and a severe laceration from the still haunts Kings Bobby Hurley glides to Basket for 2 Points against suns in his first regular season game after his Accident Corner of his left Eye to his left ear. The injury to his right knee was a partially torn Anterior cruciate Liga ment by itself an athlete s Nightmare. That night it waste least of his surgeons concerns. For the first three Days Hurley was on a breathing machine to help his collapsed lungs. On the fourth Day he was breathing on his own and allowed to leave the Hospital s critical care unit. Twelve Days after the Acci Dent on the night before Christmas he left the Hospital with his family another Miracle of the season. A few weeks later after being cleared to Fly Hurley was Back Home in Jersey City n.j., the town where his storied basketball career had begun. Nothing had Ever come easy for Hurley who was always supposed to be too Small too frail. Even after a Brilliant fou year career at Duke that include two National championships sceptics wondered if he could make it in the Aba. The Start of rehab brought on yet another the beginning he had difficulty adjusting his pain medication and he worried about Side effects. There were nightmares flashbacks to the Accident. He d Wake up crying in cold sweats. His first time on a Treadmill he lasted 10 minutes before a heart rate of 180 ended his workout and left him exhausted. After a few More sessions he began Light in March he went Over to the St. Anthony s High school gym where he once played for his father Bob probation officer and the coach at the Catholic school. During a High school practice Hurley stepped on the court for the first time since the Accident and tried to take a shot. I could barely get my left Arm Over my head he said. My right Arm was Okay so i just tried to shoot some foul shots. It was All i could with More physical therapy and several session with a sports psychologist Hurley was cleared to try to play again six months to the Day after the Accident. Once More his father was there for him. The two of them would go to the St. Anthony s gym and shut the doors despite the stifling heat of summer in the City. Bob or. Would set a clock for five minutes and Bob run from one end of the court to the other shooting dribbling testing All of his battered Bod parts for As Long As he could stand it. Eventually he would play in a Jersey Shore summer league. In late july he returned to Sacramento and participated in an exhibition game at the Arco Arena pre ceding the Start of a two week summer Camp for the team s rookies free agents and of course Bobby Hurley. In August he played for a week on Sacramento s team in a Salt Lake City summer tournament. He did t look great but you could see he was get Ting it Back said Eddie Jordan a Kings assistant again he was playing with a lot of Guys heh adn t seen before and it was a pretty fast Pace. But every Day he gets better and right now he s feeling whole lot More ,. ". ". Hurley is still essentially a Rookie. The Acci Dent occurred 19 games into his first season and he believes he is a better player a year later More cognizant of what s going on around him than before even so standing among the tall muscular men Allaround him he is a basketball contradiction at 6 feet tall and barely 160 pounds. That s up 20 pounds from his lowest Point in rehab but still about 10 pounds away from where he wants to be. His baggy game shorts Sag almost Over his Knees and those trademark deep set eyes and Pale pallor give him an almost emaciated look.,-. " his left shoulder is still a bit sore though almost to tally healed and he never did need surgery to fix his knee the biggest concern of the basketball people after his initial recovery. A thin scar from the Cut on the Sid of his face is a barely visible sign of the Accident though the memory of the last 11 months is seared in has been Back to the scene of the crash several times once to film a Public service announcement about the importance of wearing seat belts. He has also seen the Man he believes caused him so much pain. In september Hurley was called As a witness in Wie land s trial for reckless driving a Case that ended with a Hung jury. On the witness stand Hurley testified that he had ill will toward the Man accused of causing the Accident that almost killed him. I be gone through the most difficult thing in my life he said that Day. My career has been jeopardized. My life was turned upside Down because of Thi Accident. Never once was there any attempt to make any kind of apology for anything that happened. I feel animosity toward now six weeks later sitting court Side before a recent practice Hurley s tone has softened considerably. A very difficult thing to a people can t realize Why ican t remember certain things. No matter what happens on the basketball court know i m very Lucky to be on this Earth. I try to look no decision has been made by whether to retry the Case. Hurley lives in a new place about 10 minutes fro the Arco Arena. He does not have to go by Way of Del paso or Al Centro to get there. He usually drives him self around town and always fastens his seat Belt. If someone cuts me off or i get a Little frustrated and i be got somebody else in the car i la let them drive he said. There s no sense getting worked up Over anything like he is no longer starting for the Kings a role that no belongs to his Friend and Veteran Mentor Spud Webb but he is averaging about 20 minutes a game. Though his doctors say Hurley s cardiovascular an pulmonary functions Are better now than before the Accident Jordan said the coaching staff is closely monitoring Hurley s minutes to make sure he can handle the Pace. I think he s playing solid basketball and he s going to get better said Portland . Carlesimo the former Seton Hall coach who s known Hurley and his family for years and coached his younger brother Danny As Well. The other night Sawyer now in private practice happened to tune in a Kings game and sat transfixed i front of the to set watching his former patient run up and Down the basketball court. It s just amazing to me Sawyer said. Amazing and fantastic. He looks like he s As Good As new. I watch him and i say wow just wow yes i know who heis
