Published: Saturday, June 28, 2008
Serious knee injury a setback for Snohomish High guard
By Mike Cane Herald Writer
This was supposed to be the summer when Brad Shaw would impress college coaches and possibly earn a chance to play basketball after high school.
Instead he'll be rehabilitating his knee and wondering when he can get back on the court.
Shaw, a senior-to-be from Snohomish High School, had surgery June 10 to repair an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his right knee. The 6-foot-4 guard suffered the injury while playing for his AAU team, Yakima Elite, in late May at a tournament in California.
Shaw, who averaged about 13 points per game last season, had his first rehabilitation session Wednesday. He said he will miss at least part of the 2008-09 season and could return in January, but the outlook is unclear.
"Definitely not great timing. There's never great timing for something like this," Shaw said of the injury.
It happened after he made a hesitation move and dribbled to the hoop. When he planted his right foot, a player bumped him from the side. Shaw said his knee buckled and he immediately knew something was wrong.
Several college coaches had expressed interest in Shaw, but none had made scholarship offers, the guard said.
Shaw was going to be the only returning starter from a Snohomish squad that last season was 21-5 and won division and district titles. At the Class 4A state tournament, Shaw was the Panthers' leading scorer, pouring in 17.7 points per game, including 26 in a victory against Mountain View.
He arguably would have been the area's premier senior next season.
"I wouldn't have traded him for anybody in the county or the league," Snohomish boys basketball coach Len Bone said.
Bone said he is assuming Shaw, an All-Wesco North Second Team honoree, won't play at all for Snohomish next winter.
"He wants to play a lot more basketball (after high school) so I think he's going to be really cautious and make sure that he's ready before he starts to play again," Bone said.
A player with good shooting range who can drive to the hoop and has a scorer's mentality, Shaw had gotten stronger since the end of his junior season and was headed for a great senior season, Bone said.
With its best player injured, Snohomish will try to overcome a major lack of experience.
"It just means that some other guys are going to have to step in there and be productive,"Bone said.
Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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