City of Basketball Love

Isabella Sanchez Castaneda (@Is_Sanchezz)
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It took Friend’s Central’s Myles Robinson three months to realize he had been playing on a torn ACL.

“Something was wrong,” he said. “But I didn’t think it was that bad.”

The 6-foot-4 small forward tore his ACL playing in an offseason tournament last year, but continued playing on the injury, convincing himself it couldn’t be that bad. It wasn’t until a trainer at another camp told him that he shouldn’t be playing on that knee that he finally went to the doctor for an MRI.

That’s when he received the bad news. A torn ACL meant undergoing surgery and missing his sophomore season where he would have had a big opportunity to prove himself. As a starter his freshman year, Robinson was looked up to for his tenacity on the court and leadership; big things were planned for the encore.

“I’ve never had an injury ever in my life -- so my first injury was my first big one,” he said.

The road to recovery in front of him was long, but Robinson kept a positive attitude. He used the season off the court to focus on developing his mental game and analytical skills.

He did admit that that there were some more challenging moments in the beginning, especially when he as figuring out how to still be part of the team from the sidelines.

“It was early on, watching them make silly mistakes that should not be made...that’s the toughest part,” Robinson said. “Guys not respecting you at first because you can’t — I guess they say if you can’t see it from their point of view you don’t know what you’re really talking about, so that was tough getting them to actually respect me and listen to me.”

Fortunately, Robinson didn’t have to go through the process alone. His current teammates and some Friends’ Central basketball alumni continually offered advice and guidance.

“I know how devastating it can be for an athlete to lose a full season due to injury,” said Ryan Tozer, FCS head coach. “Thankfully, he has had terrific support.”

During his recovery, Robinson looked towards Billy Cassidy, a 2013 graduate who suffered the same injury during his junior year at Neumann University.

Assistant head coach at Friends’ Central, Michael Cook, was another great source of reassurance for Robinson. Cook is very familiar with knee injuries and how devastating missing a season is for a young athlete.

Only 11 games into his senior season at the University of Pittsburgh, he suffered lateral and medial meniscus tears as well as an ACL tear. That 2007 game against Duke was the last one Cook played for the Panthers.  

That experience allowed Cook to be an asset to Robinson while he dealt with his own pain.

“It was great to have Mike here constantly in his ear telling him ‘Be positive. Be patient. keep working, your time will come,’” Tozer said.  

Robinson’s commitment to his physical therapy regimen was another big factor in his recovery. He was attending “four to five sessions a week” hoping to return to normal. Rehabilitation for this injury focuses a lot on regaining full range of motion and strengthening the leg to fully support a player’s body weight.

Robinson said that by the time he first got back out onto the court, he already trusted that his surgically repaired leg would hold up.

“All I do is practice landing on this leg and I do a bunch of stuff that gets me prepared to play out here,” Robinson said. “I feel pretty great playing out there.”

“I suspect that there will be an adjustment period while he regains confidence in his ACL,” added Tozer, “but anyone who saw Myles play as a freshman knows he is a tough young man.”

The Phoenix ended their last season with a 13-14 record and graduated their starting point guard, Wesleyan-bound Antone Walker. The rest of their starting lineup was will return in rising sophomore guard Omar Nichols, junior guard Bryce Spriggs, and two senior forwards in Justin Steers and Toure Mosley-Banks.

Robinson, along with Lawrenceville prep transfer Josh Friday, give the team even more size in the frontcourt. But they’ll still have to chase down four-time defending league champion Westtown, led by national top-five prospect Cameron Reddish, as well as a tough Shipley squad featuring senior point guard Sam Sessoms and junior big man Ray Somerville.

“I’m excited to have [Myles] back,” Tozer said. “He’s going to bring that toughness that we need.”

Robinson stepped on the Hoop Group Elite courts this week with a white headband and black knee brace ready to play in front of college coaches.

“I feel 110 percent,” he said.