Turiaf Update
You’ve got to love this story. It just keeps getting better and better, and will hopefully be a Hollywood ending (literally and figuratively) for Ronny. I plan on heading down to Yakima sometime in January to cheer on the big guy.
This from the Spokesman Review Editorial:
Five months after open-heart surgery to repair the enlarged root in his heart, Turiaf will lace up his sneakers for the first time to step onto a basketball court as a professional. That he still has a chance to play in the National Basketball Association this year defies the dire predictions made for him by physicians and Laker officials before and after Turiaf’s open-heart surgery July 26. It also underscores how badly Turiaf wanted to continue playing basketball. It’s easy to pull for this determined young athlete who has meant so much to Spokane and the Inland Northwest.
Meanwhile, Turiaf, who inspired teammates and fans with his enthusiasm and leadership on the court, surprised all but himself by progressing from a few hesitant steps following surgery, to scrimmaging with the 2005-06 Gonzaga team, to being cleared by doctors to play again. From looking death in the face as a gifted athlete of 22, he has come almost all the way back to the young man who was picked in the second round of the National Basketball Association draft.
His appearance on the court is nothing short of a Christmas holiday miracle - and a foretaste of that future game when he’ll make his NBA debut.