UB athletes wary after gruesome NCAA Tournament injury

Following one of the most frightening injuries ever seen in sports, Louisville guard Kevin Ware's fall has created discussion among basketball fans and players alike.

Ware jumped to contest a shot, just like he has thousands of times since grade school. However, when he landed, his leg buckled in such a way that resulted in his bone breaking in two places and protruding from his skin. Many news networks opted to not show the footage.

Oftentimes, fans assume football has some of the worst injuries in sports, but Ware's injury is a reminder that basketball, too, yields its share of ghastly impacts.

One Buffalo Bull in particular, sophomore forward Xavier Ford, felt a personal impact of the injury as he was watching the game.

"When that happened I was just like, 'Wow,'" Ford said. "I grabbed my shin like it happened to me. At that point, I just prayed for him and his family and hoped for a recovery."

Pictures of Ware's bone bulging out of his leg are going viral on the Internet.

Players and coaches were seen crying and even on the verge of vomiting immediately after the injury. Louisville head coach Rick Pitino rushed to Ware's side and was visibly teary-eyed as he examined the injury.

"The toughest thing to see, whether he's an opponent or someone on your team, is an injury, because everyone wants to keep playing and deserves that right and the ability to do so," said former Bulls point guard Byron Mulkey.

To athletes, a situation like that is more than just a fallen teammate - it's an injured brother.

"Everyone who was really close to the scene was just in a state of shock," Mulkey said. "That's a guy who's a teammate of theirs and like a family member, being that we often spend more time as a team than with your family, so you form that bond. When something like that happens, the first thing that goes through your mind is: 'What can you do to help that person in that situation?'"

Ford saw an injury similar to Ware's once before in his youth. When playing in the eighth grade, a player's leg bent in such a way that "his knee was sticking out," and it was "hard to look at," according to Ford.

Ware was released from the hospital on Tuesday after undergoing a successful surgery and he will travel with his teammates to the Final Four in Atlanta this weekend. Early reports indicate he will be sidelined for about a year.

For Ford, injuries are always a concern in the back of an athlete's head, but they never expect one as horrifying as Ware's.

"You think of an injury, but you never think of your bone coming outof your leg," Ford said. "Nothing that extreme."

Louisville rallied around Ware's words as he exited the court, "just win the game," which was exactly what the Cardinals did. They outscored Duke 50-31 in the second half en route to an 85-63 victory.

Although many would think anybody who had such a traumatic on-court injury would never want to touch or even look at a ball again, Mulkey sees the situation differently.

"If something like that happens it is kind of like: 'That's not the way I want to go out,'" Mulkey said. "You put it in your mind that if everything goes well with the surgery and things that are out of your control go well, like rehab, [and you can] work your way back to full health and step on the court again, it kind of redeems yourself. I think most athletes would feel the same, as well. Few would shy away from the court."

Ware is expected to make a full recovery, while his teammates will take on Wichita State Saturday night with a trip to the National Championship on the line.

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