Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire knows well the recovery road Greg Oden is traveling
Amare Stoudemire gives this advice to Greg Oden while the Trail Blazers center rehabilitates and recovers from season-ending knee surgery.
"Stay positive and take your time."
The Phoenix Suns power forward knows what he is talking about. He's had three knee surgeries, including the same microfracture procedure that Greg Oden underwent. Stoudemire has recovered from all three and has quickly reestablished himself as one of the NBA's premier players.
"He's a remarkable athlete," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He has an unbelievable will to be the best."
Many observers want to dredge up former Blazers center Sam Bowie and compare his injury issues to Greg Oden's surgery. The career of Bowie, the third overall selection of the 1984 draft, was cut short after five major leg surgeries.
Comparing Greg Oden to Stoudemire is more appropriate, considering the age of each player (Stoudemire was 22 at the time of his surgery; Greg Oden is 19), the advancements of medical technology and rehabilitation, and the similarities in their injuries.
The comparison is encouraging for Greg Oden and Blazers fans.
Stoudemire averaged 20.4 points and a career-high 9.6 rebounds while playing in all 82 regular season games in 2006-07, his first full season after the microfracture surgery. He was a member of the 2007 All-Star team, an All-NBA first-team selection and is on the U.S. Olympic basketball team.
"He's amazing. He recovers so quickly," Phoenix guard Steve Nash said. "He looks so athletic so soon after the surgery. It's unbelievable how quickly he can recover."
The career of the 6-foot-10, 245-pound Stoudemire was thrown in doubt when he underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee Oct. 11, 2005.
The procedure, where tiny fractures are created in bones around the knee, causing bleeding and clotting to spur new cartilage development, has been used increasingly on NBA players. Still, the surgery is risky.
"I try to stay positive in everything and I stayed focused on my goals. I knew I would be out for a year, but I figured if I work hard at coming back and get back to my normal self -- it took awhile and it was definitely hard -- everything would be OK," Stoudemire said.
"I worked hard with the rehab and the weight room. I paid attention to the trainers and did everything they asked me to do."
The hard rehabilitation work didn't end with Stoudemire's return to the court. He spends nearly an hour warming up before practices and games. Thirty minutes in the weight room that includes leg work and another 30 minutes on the court for shots and agility work.
"Sometimes, the work is harder now than when I was rehabbing," Stoudemire said.
Stoudemire, 25, said he received plenty of advice from other players, including New Jersey guard Jason Kidd, who has continued to play very well since having microfracture surgery in July 2004. Kidd , who was 31, and John Stockton, who was 35, are the only players older than 30 who have been able to overcome the surgery and continue playing at their pre-surgery level.
Younger players, such as Stoudemire and former Blazers forward Zach Randolph, have regained their pre-surgery form -- but it took time.
Stoudemire returned to the court in March 2006, just five months after the surgery. He scored 20 points in 19 minutes in his first game, but his play dropped off dramatically in the next two games before he was shelved for the remainder of the 2005-06 season. Stoudemire had a second surgery, an arthroscopic procedure to remove debris in his right knee, on April 5, 2006. He had another arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last month.
"It's hard to stay away, because you want to play so bad. It's just your competitive nature," Stoudemire said. "But you definitely have to hold back and take your time. . . . I didn't want to reinjure anything or push the rehab back even further."
Even now, two years after the first surgery, Stoudemire said he feels occasional stiffness in his knees. He sat out three games last week because of pain in his right knee, which has not had the microfracture procedure. Stoudemire said his experiences should serve as a warning to Greg Oden: Be sure his knee is sound before attempting to make a return to the court.
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