BURN THE HORSE
Shoulder surgery is nothing new for UALR junior forward Will
Neighbour. The speed at which he's recovering definitely is.
Neighbour, who had surgery on his right shoulder in the
spring, had a similar surgery on his left shoulder about 18 months earlier.
Knowing what he went through the first time has helped with his recovery the
second time. And being at UALR with Athletic Trainer Michael Switlik and strength
and conditioning Coach John Barron hasn’t hurt either.
“Obviously, Coach
Barron is a great weight coach. We’re even putting weight on me right now. And
Swit, he’s awesome too. We’re doing range of motion every day and certain
exercises the doctor wants us to do. I think just having the people around me
is helping me get better faster.”
Neighbour was just hitting his stride when he got hurt last
year. He just came off 19 points vs. Illinois State, 19 points against North
Texas and 17 against Denver in the game in which he was injured.
He immediately knew he had a problem. He had injured the
other shoulder before his sophomore year at Daytona State College. Knowing what
the surgery and recovery consisted of, he put it off and played in great pain
the rest of the year. Some nights the pain was too great. Other times, he
fought through it and was the best player on the court. One such night came in
a nationally televised game at Middle Tennessee, when he scored a career high 22
points.
He passed up an opportunity to try out for the Great Britain
Olympic team this summer. That enabled him to have the surgery and begin rehab.
He’s on track to be ready when UALR opens the season Nov. 9 vs.
Tennessee-Martin.
“Last surgery it took all year. But I really think it’s the
people around me now. I’ve been recovering much faster,” Neighbour said.
And that’s welcome news for UALR fans.
