LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Injured Louisville guard Kevin Ware will travel to the Final Four on his crutches and expects to be a big presence for the Cardinals.
Cleared by doctors Wednesday to accompany Louisville to Atlanta, the sophomore told The Associated Press Wednesday that he plans to be a full participant in the team’s preparation for Saturday’s game against Wichita State.
Ware said the overwhelming support he has received has helped him maintain his spirits and strengthened his confidence of a full recovery. He hopes by next season to be helping the Cardinals defend the national championship he believes they’ll win this weekend.
The normally reserved 20-year-old calmly recalled how he felt when he suffered the devastating injury, saying he doesn’t think Louisville would be in the Final Four if he had lost his composure.
Ware credits teammate Luke Hancock for calming him down.
“He got me to that point where I really had to put the pain on hold,” said Ware, with his leg in a cast propped up on a couch at the Cardinals’ practice facility. “Once he said his prayer, I was kind of thinking the whole time, ‘you can either be a crybaby about it or you’re going to get your team back and get them in the right mindset’.
“Luke said his words, and I just kept repeating, ‘y’all gotta go win this game.’ I’m fine. … It really helped the team.”
But it wasn’t easy for the Cardinals, many of whom cried after seeing Ware’s gruesome injury — his bone protruding through his skin.
Even Louisville coach Rick Pitino was emotional, wiping tears from his eyes and later saying that the sight of his player’s injury almost made him vomit.
But Pitino said everyone’s emotions have settled down knowing that it appears Ware will be OK.
“I think we’re all fine now,” Pitino said. “Just having Kevin around, we can exhale now.”
The coach said having Ware in Atlanta might provide the Cardinals with a little “extra emotion,” but in his experience the “the team that executes the best will win.”
Pitino and his son, Richard, spent Monday at the hospital with Ware, who was pictured holding the championship trophy in his bed. Though Ware had maintained his composure talking with AP, he became very emotional during an earlier interview with ESPN when talking about waking up and seeing the championship trophy.
The coach downplayed staying with him at the hospital after his injury.
“There’s not a coach in America that wouldn’t be there,” he said.
And while Pitino said everyone can exhale now, the Cardinals had to take a deep breath when Ware went down on Sunday. They eventually regrouped and took the lead at halftime against Duke en route to an 85-63 victory over the Blue Devils in Indianapolis.
Through it all, Ware said he had to remain strong. He was placed on a stretcher and wheeled out of Lucas Oil Stadium to cheers of ‘Kevin Ware, Kevin Ware,’ before heading to Methodist Hospital.
Ware underwent a two-hour operation to repair compound fractures of the tibia that left the leg at an odd angle. He awoke the next morning to discover he had become an overnight sensation, and the afterglow hasn’t waned.
His condition and progress have been featured every day on the major networks, the Internet and especially social media. The Cardinals’ practice facility was surrounded by a phalanx of satellite trucks, and the interview requests helped Ware get an early jump on his rehab as he shuttled back and forth between makeshift sets.
Ware said he has heard from several of his NBA idols, including Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Charles Barkley. The Louisville guard said he has even heard from first lady Michelle Obama and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Pitino joked that he told Ware that he was most impressed by Obama’s gesture.
For the soft-spoken Ware, the support and media attention has meant more interviews than he ever imagined.
“I had no idea I would get this kind of attention,” he said. “I’m one of those guys who just likes to play basketball. But the injury opened up a lot of peoples’ eyes and I really appreciate all the support. It really means a lot.”
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.