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West Virginia freshman Cottrell 'on a mission' to come back after injury

West Virginia basketball freshman Cottrell has undergone surgery to repair his torn left Achilles tendon.
West Virginia basketball freshman Cottrell has undergone surgery to repair his torn left Achilles tendon.

West Virginia freshman Isaiah Cottrell was out for the season after sustaining a torn Achilles tendon in his left leg during the first half of the Northeastern game Dec. 29.

It was a significant blow then but magnified even more once sophomore big man Oscar Tshiebwe elected to leave the program mid-season. That put the once robust front-court depth on thin ice and it’s unfortunate that those minutes vacated by Tshiebwe would have gone to Cottrell.

The loss of Cottrell also hurt from the perspective that he was clearly the most skilled of the group. Prior to the injury, Cottrell had played in all 10 games to that point and averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game while starting to have a larger role with the team.

“You got a 6-foot-10 guy that can stretch the floor, which he can. He’s a really good jump shooter and can pass. His skill levels surpasses any of the other bigs that we have in terms of skill,” head coach Bob Huggins said of the freshman.

A torn Achilles is not a common injury to come back from and it’s one that sidelined the talented freshman for all of last season, but his recovery is already underway.

“According to his mother, the surgery went as well as it could be. It was a very good surgery. Isaiah has already started doing whatever it is they allow him to do at this point, which obviously isn’t very much right now,” Huggins said. “But he’s already doing that, and he will continue to do that.”

There is no timetable for something like this, but Huggins understands that because it is not a common injury at this level, there will be some patience required.

“Certainly, you don’t want to rush it. The kid’s got a great future,” Huggins said.

But in the meantime, Cottrell continues to have his eyes on the goal of getting back on the floor. Huggins relayed a story that he brought himself to practice after the injury occurred just to watch and be with his teammates although he had no shot of being on the floor.

That is a stark contrast to some of the behavior that has unfolded out of bigs in recent years. But the surgery is complete, and Cottrell is currently rehabbing and is now on the road to getting back in a West Virginia uniform.

“Isaiah wants to play. And something that I love is that he wants to do it in a West Virginia uniform. He wants to play at West Virginia, he wants to represent the state. He loves the state, he loves the people so he’s on a mission to be able to come back and play,” Huggins said.

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