UW freshman Katie Collier suffers setback
August, 14, 2012
8/14/12
1:20
PM PT
By
Mason Kelley | ESPN.com
It was the very first open gym of Katie Collier's college career. The forward was on the floor with fellow Washington freshman Heather Corral and a few players from the program’s past.
The scrimmage was supposed to be a simple step forward in her transition from McDonald’s All-American to college freshman. It was part of the process of moving beyond a senior season spent battling post players and chemotherapy.
After playing her senior season while overcoming acute promyelocytic leukemia, Collier was ready to have her life back. She was ready to focus on basketball, not her health.
But 15 minutes into that first scrimmage, she felt the pop that sent her back to the sideline.
Collier caught the ball in the paint. She faked one way, then turned the other. She planted her right leg. It locked. When she heard the pop, she fell down.
“I was just hoping and praying it wasn’t my ACL,” Collier said. “It ended up being my ACL, MCL and meniscus.”
Collier said the setback was a “bummer,” but like Washington running back Deontae Cooper, who suffered his third ACL tear last week, she sees only one way to move forward.
“There is a plan that I don’t know about,” Collier said. “For some reason, maybe I’m not supposed to be playing this season.”
For Collier, her turbulent senior season started during her official visit to Washington. Her gums were bleeding when she woke up Sept. 24. She knew something was wrong. She was later diagnosed with leukemia.
She refused to be deterred by the diagnosis. By the end of her senior season, there were days she underwent chemotherapy before willing her way onto the basketball floor for SeaTac (Wash.) Seattle Christian.
Her March trip to the McDonald’s All-American game in Chicago was a chance to celebrate the end of her treatments.
Now, with everything coming together for the freshman, she suffered a setback. But she is already moving forward. She has started pre-surgery rehab and is confident her positive attitude will aid in her recovery.
Even after everything she has been through, she remains focused on the future. She doesn’t let the setbacks shake her smile.
“You’ve got to go with what life gives you,” she said. “My time will come.”
The scrimmage was supposed to be a simple step forward in her transition from McDonald’s All-American to college freshman. It was part of the process of moving beyond a senior season spent battling post players and chemotherapy.
After playing her senior season while overcoming acute promyelocytic leukemia, Collier was ready to have her life back. She was ready to focus on basketball, not her health.
But 15 minutes into that first scrimmage, she felt the pop that sent her back to the sideline.
Collier caught the ball in the paint. She faked one way, then turned the other. She planted her right leg. It locked. When she heard the pop, she fell down.
“I was just hoping and praying it wasn’t my ACL,” Collier said. “It ended up being my ACL, MCL and meniscus.”
Collier said the setback was a “bummer,” but like Washington running back Deontae Cooper, who suffered his third ACL tear last week, she sees only one way to move forward.
“There is a plan that I don’t know about,” Collier said. “For some reason, maybe I’m not supposed to be playing this season.”
For Collier, her turbulent senior season started during her official visit to Washington. Her gums were bleeding when she woke up Sept. 24. She knew something was wrong. She was later diagnosed with leukemia.
She refused to be deterred by the diagnosis. By the end of her senior season, there were days she underwent chemotherapy before willing her way onto the basketball floor for SeaTac (Wash.) Seattle Christian.
Her March trip to the McDonald’s All-American game in Chicago was a chance to celebrate the end of her treatments.
Now, with everything coming together for the freshman, she suffered a setback. But she is already moving forward. She has started pre-surgery rehab and is confident her positive attitude will aid in her recovery.
Even after everything she has been through, she remains focused on the future. She doesn’t let the setbacks shake her smile.
“You’ve got to go with what life gives you,” she said. “My time will come.”
Mason Kelley | email
Reporter, Recruiting Nation- Covers Washington recruiting
- Spent three years with the Seattle Times
- Joined ESPN in 2012
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