All last year, Dave McClure felt worthless.
He was a college basketball player, but he couldn't play college basketball. He was on the Blue Devils, and he went to every game, every practice and every weight session, but he couldn't do a thing.
He sat on the sideline during games, wearing slacks instead of shorts and loafers instead of high-tops, as he watched tall, athletic wings like Boston College's Jared Dudley and Florida State's Al Thornton torch the Blue Devils. And it killed him, because he knew that he might be the player-the tall, athletic wing-that Duke's team was sorely missing.
"It was almost like I had a job that I didn't do anything at," McClure said of last season, which he redshirted while he recovered from off-season knee surgery. "It was so frustrating, especially in games where I saw somebody that is the type of player that I would really have an advantage in guarding or attacking, where we might have been missing that last year. And it was tough to watch but I think that it also helped me grow."
McClure missed several games during his freshman year with a floating body in his left knee. By the end of the season, he knew that the joint was a ticking time bomb. The cartilage was wearing away and no one could say how long he would be able to play before the knee gave out.
So McClure had to make a choice. He could mortgage his basketball future, avoid taking the step back by having surgery and play through pain until the knee gave out in a year or 10 years. On the other hand, he could have the surgery, miss a guaranteed eight to 12 months and return full strength after sitting out a year.
He underwent surgery May 12, and at that point, he knew he was going to miss what would have been his sophomore season. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski showed up at his hospital bedside the next day to reassure him that he made the right decision.
"When you first realize that it's going to be a while, it's so disheartening," McClure said. "[Coach] just explained that he was behind me, and even though I did have to sit out for the year, that they were supporting me and they understood that it would be the best for the long run."
After the surgery, McClure returned to Duke for summer school, walking with crutches until the last week of classes in early August. He started riding a stationary bike in October, was allowed to jog in December and ran at full speed on the West Campus turf fields by Jan. 1. On Feb. 15, McClure was able to scrimmage with his teammates until he started to tire-the doctors told him that he had a greater chance of re-injuring the knee when he was fatigued. By June, he was at full speed.
In between, he underwent grueling rehab three to four days a week-sitting on a table doing quad sets, doing hundreds of one-legged knee bends and one-legged squats. And while McClure sweated through the pain, one thought kept him going.
"It was being able to dunk again," said McClure, who had been able to dunk since ninth grade. "Whenever I would try to jump off one foot, it felt like I was about to fall over. Growing up, everyone is always trying to dunk, lowering the hoop so they can dunk, and that was one of the most exciting things for me."
By late February, McClure had reached his goal, jumping off of one leg during practice and throwing down a dunk. "When I first got back out there, and I had my first dunk off one leg, it made it all worthwhile," he said. "I started going real hard again."
Ironically, now that McClure's back, he's no longer the missing piece-he's just another athletic wing on a team that became exponentially more athletic in the offseason. But that's not to say McClure is no longer needed. All that growing up the 6-foot-6 forward did while he was sitting on the bench, sweating through rehab and watching last year's four seniors might just come in handy.
Though McClure is listed as a sophomore, his redshirt year means he's been plugged into Duke's system for two full seasons. He's watched the intensity with which graduated superstars J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams attacked practice. He's stood on the sidelines and seen Krzyzewski yell at his teammates, and he's learned that the coach never means it to be personal.
Only one other scholarship player-McClure's roommate, junior DeMarcus Nelson-has been at Duke as long as McClure. And no other player knows what it's like to lose a full season of collegiate basketball, to face a rehab schedule that seemed like it would never end, to sit on the bench feeling worthless.
"I've been gone for so long, it's so exciting out there," McClure said. "Basketball's a sport I played every day of my life from third grade on, all of a sudden to have that taken away, there's not a day I step on the court when I'm not excited to be out there."
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