Jesse Edwards Cincinnati Preview
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00:00 Jesse, so I guess take us back to December 16th.
00:03 You guys just get everybody back.
00:06 And then did you know right away that it was bad?
00:09 Just take me to the injury.
00:11 Yeah, yeah.
00:13 So when it happened, like you said,
00:16 we just got everybody back.
00:17 I mean, Ray didn't play that game,
00:18 but he was allowed to play the next one,
00:21 so we knew we were going to get him back.
00:24 And yeah, I felt--
00:26 I knew, like you said, I knew already the moment.
00:29 I landed-- I felt the same pain.
00:32 I felt another one two years ago.
00:35 So I kind of knew.
00:37 I was hoping it would be a little less bad,
00:39 or I don't know, just be a bruise.
00:41 But yeah, I had the feeling already.
00:43 So yeah.
00:44 So when you first do that, do you think my season's over?
00:47 What goes through your mind when you initially do it?
00:50 Yeah, that was definitely one of my first thoughts,
00:54 because the last time I did, it was season ending.
00:57 I mean, this time, it's a little earlier in the season.
01:00 And yeah, it's been-- the recovery's been going great.
01:03 So the doctor's been really happy about every photo
01:08 we've taken.
01:08 It's been looking great, they said.
01:10 And they're saying it's going to hurt a little,
01:12 but you can go ahead and get right back
01:15 to where you were-- the way you were going.
01:19 So yeah, the recovery's been great.
01:21 And luckily, so far, it's not seen the season ending.
01:24 So we're definitely going to go for whatever
01:26 we can get from now on.
01:28 And there's a knee surgery or ACL or something.
01:31 I mean, you know what that rehab's going to be like.
01:34 It's going to be a lot of walking, stretching,
01:36 treadmill, swimming.
01:38 How do you rehab a wrist?
01:39 What's the process there?
01:42 I mean--
01:43 Different, yeah.
01:43 It's not like we're in the swimming pool
01:46 doing what we can do.
01:48 But yeah, at first, it was really just with the cast,
01:51 straight up.
01:51 You had to just wait for the bone to heal.
01:54 That took about four weeks.
01:56 That was the main thing, just waiting.
01:58 And then from that point on, it's
02:00 mostly the mobility, getting back.
02:01 So it's like, can you go all the way back,
02:04 which is important for shooting, catching a basketball,
02:08 strengthening it, make sure that all the muscles around it
02:12 can actually work the way they're supposed to.
02:14 So that's what we're in right now.
02:16 So we're kind of halfway to that process.
02:18 And then the bruising and all that stuff will heal by itself.
02:21 So it's a little different, the ACL and all that.
02:24 But there's definitely some stuff we're doing.
02:26 And hand weights.
02:28 Yeah.
02:28 It looks kind of stupid.
02:29 It's like five pounds, but it's necessary.
02:33 So that's what we're doing right now.
02:35 You dressed a couple of games ago, I mean, in uniform.
02:38 But you didn't play.
02:39 Anxious?
02:40 Did you sort of know you were going to have to sit those?
02:42 How tough is it to get that close and still not get in?
02:45 Yeah, especially Kansas.
02:47 It's one I've been looking forward to for a while.
02:51 So that was the day before that.
02:54 It was kind of when I got the sort of go ahead.
02:58 If you can play, you would be allowed to.
03:02 But I went on to practice the next day before the game.
03:07 And I could not catch or shoot or pass a basketball.
03:11 So I kind of knew it wasn't that time to go,
03:15 especially against the top five team.
03:17 It's not a good idea to go out there
03:20 if you can't shoot or pass or defend anybody.
03:22 So yeah, we dressed--
03:24 or I dressed to see if it would--
03:28 I don't know.
03:29 We talked about it with the coach and with the staff.
03:32 And I'll just go ahead and dress this.
03:34 Maybe they think about it in the back of their heads.
03:37 And I mean, hopefully they did.
03:38 And that was a great game for us.
03:42 Yeah, I would love to be out there though, that game.
03:44 But it wasn't possible yet.
03:46 Yeah.
03:47 How did you come out physically from your return Saturday?
03:50 What was Sunday?
03:52 Coach said you guys were all off.
03:53 So I mean, how was that?
03:54 And then yesterday getting back, how did you feel from,
03:57 like, 15 or 16 minutes against Oaky State?
04:00 Yeah, we had a great practice yesterday.
04:04 Personally, I felt really a lot better.
04:07 Just having played a little bit more,
04:10 that game was kind of one of my first times being out there.
04:13 Like, that free throw was my first free throw in five weeks.
04:16 So I'm happy I made, like, one or two.
04:19 I thought it was going to be an air ball.
04:21 So I'm happy I made it.
04:22 But that was really just--
04:24 it was really just maybe my third time back on the course.
04:28 So I was just trying to do what I could do to help the team.
04:31 And we could do some stuff.
04:33 But now, yeah, the actual practices,
04:35 it's going to help getting into your actual flow.
04:39 And the way it felt, I felt pretty good.
04:42 Yeah, it hurts.
04:44 But it's something that's going to take a while,
04:47 because the bones is looking great.
04:49 But the stuff, the ligaments around it,
04:51 they take some time.
04:52 So--
04:53 You've gone through this before.
04:54 I mean, does that help you?
04:57 Or is everyone a little different?
04:58 Yeah, I mean, this one is so similar.
05:00 It definitely helps knowing what you've got coming up,
05:04 because you kind of know the process a little bit,
05:06 since you didn't exact same thing before.
05:08 So yeah, it helps.
05:10 On that note, though, are you able to kind of draw
05:12 a sense of timeline between the first one and this one,
05:15 and try and see in your head, OK, I was here this time
05:19 when I had the first injury.
05:20 And I'm either further along or not quite there
05:23 second time around?
05:25 Yeah, this one is going pretty fast.
05:28 What I got to say, last time I didn't have a season
05:30 to come back to, because it was the end of the season.
05:33 So I had a little less--
05:36 I didn't really keep track of, oh, it's six weeks.
05:38 Now I'm playing again, because I was done regardless.
05:42 But it's definitely-- it's feeling really good
05:45 for the point I'm at.
05:46 So I'm really happy with that progress.
05:48 Yeah.
05:49 Jesse, for the first time this season,
05:50 you have everyone available.
05:54 What does that mean for the trajectory of this team
05:56 as you guys go to finish up the conference season,
05:58 and then head into the Big 12 tournament?
06:02 Well, like you said, it's kind of like the season--
06:07 I mean, it's hard to say it starts now.
06:10 But it's kind of like you finally
06:12 have everybody you wanted to have at the start.
06:16 So it's, in a way, motivating for us to be like, OK,
06:19 now we get to show what we can do, what we can actually do.
06:23 And we've had great wins already.
06:26 We've had tough losses already.
06:30 But yeah, it's nice to have the idea that you can finally
06:36 go at full power.
06:38 And that's what we're going to--
06:40 now it's up to us to show what we got, basically.
06:44 And yeah, try to put behind us what we can put behind us
06:46 and learn from what we have got so far.
06:49 So it's definitely, I think, fun for us
06:52 to finally actually be able to play.
06:54 Yeah.
06:55 Coach, at length, knowing through no fault of your own,
07:00 through an injury, that you're the missing part,
07:02 sitting there and watching game after game,
07:04 and knowing what you can contribute
07:07 but can't contribute.
07:09 What goes through your mind in that?
07:13 Yeah, like you said, it's one of the least fun things,
07:17 because you're on the sideline and see your teammates
07:21 battling.
07:23 And win or lose, it's not fun to be out on the sideline
07:25 to be watching.
07:27 All you can do is support, which is what I did.
07:31 I tried to do as much as I could.
07:32 But it's one of the least fun things in sport,
07:34 I can tell you that.
07:35 Yeah.
07:38 If you make this season into chapters,
07:40 the first chapter, it's you and Quinn out there as the two--
07:44 and you're probably the number one option at that point.
07:47 And then when you get injured, like you said,
07:49 Raekwon comes in.
07:50 So now all of a sudden, he becomes the number one.
07:53 So now with you guys both playing together,
07:55 how can you guys feed off of each other?
07:57 And is there any awkwardness there
08:00 with having two guys who are number one
08:02 options suddenly playing together now?
08:06 Yeah.
08:07 In a way, I think it could be a thing.
08:11 I just think that we're--
08:14 like any of the guys on the team,
08:15 they'll have a really big ego.
08:17 So we don't really get in each other's way too much
08:21 when it comes to scoring, because I really
08:23 don't mind getting five points in one game.
08:25 And I don't know, Raekwon gets 20.
08:30 Because I feel that in a way that I can do other stuff,
08:34 because I really--
08:35 like I like to score.
08:36 I like to block.
08:38 But I really love to make opportunities
08:40 for my teammates too.
08:41 So I really, from that point, think
08:43 that it takes some pressure off all of us
08:45 that we can try to help the team in different ways.
08:51 But yeah, there might be a game we both want to go off.
08:54 I don't know.
08:56 All of us really want to--
08:57 I don't know.
08:58 But I think mostly that as a team, every one of us,
09:01 like Kirk, Q, I mean, Pat has some great games.
09:06 So just knowing that we have all these pieces that
09:09 might have been on the bench, otherwise that now know
09:12 what they're capable of, it's really--
09:16 might just be really helpful.
09:18 So yeah, it's interesting.
09:21 I don't know what will be.
09:22 You were talking earlier about this is your guys' chance
09:25 to show.
09:26 Does it seem like, in a sense, that you guys are playing
09:29 and fast forward now though?
09:30 Because there's only so many games left to show.
09:36 Yeah.
09:37 There's definitely less room for error now.
09:40 Like we've got 11 games, I believe,
09:42 for the rest of the season.
09:45 So yeah, it feels like you have a little less time
09:49 to show everything you want to show.
09:52 But in other way, you try to look at it positive again.
09:57 It's the period of the year you want to show what you got.
10:00 So that's what we're going for.
10:02 We have what we have and the right time of the year,
10:06 hopefully.
10:06 So that's the way we're trying.
10:09 We're trying to look at everything
10:10 we can get out of it positively.
10:12 And there's a lot of positive right now.
10:16 Perception is you're an upbeat guy.
10:18 But did depression ever sink in in this last six weeks
10:22 initially?
10:23 And how did you handle it?
10:24 Did you talk to somebody?
10:26 What did you do?
10:28 No, I would-- yeah, it's definitely tough.
10:33 Like we talked about, it's definitely not fun.
10:39 I had a lot of good things to look out
10:42 for in my life at that point.
10:44 So I wasn't falling down a hole too far.
10:50 But yeah, I talked to the coaches, my teammates a lot,
10:56 and my family, my girlfriend.
10:58 We all just kept each other up.
11:03 And I never really fell too far in that way.
11:06 So I was blessed to have other things going well.
11:10 But yeah, it's hard.
11:13 Jesse, your team has faced a lot of adversity this season.
11:17 Do you think that's helped you guys bond more and be
11:19 able to perform better on the court?
11:22 I mean, yeah.
11:24 Bond for sure.
11:25 I don't think any of these guys are going to forget this year.
11:30 Whether you like it or not, it's the craziest year
11:32 of all of our careers, hopefully for the rest of our careers.
11:36 But that makes for really good friendships and bonds
11:40 that we'll never forget.
11:41 And it does translate on the court.
11:44 We're going to have to find a way
11:47 to play with each other, which it helps to have that bond.
11:50 And then you've got to build with the basketball IQ
11:54 of knowing where the other guy is going to be, which just comes
11:58 with playing with each other.
12:00 But yeah, the bond definitely helps with that too.
12:03 You feel more comfortable even since Saturday?
12:06 You're shooting stroke, your foul shots,
12:08 and stuff that maybe you struggle with the first time
12:10 out.
12:11 Does it feel even better a couple of days later?
12:13 Yeah, really at this point, every day
12:15 makes a big difference because like I said at that point,
12:18 it was really my first free throw.
12:21 I never shot one before that shot.
12:24 So I've been working on it now, trying to get it back.
12:29 But every day really makes a big difference in feeling
12:31 and touching.
12:32 You really get a lot back in 24 hours.
12:35 So yeah.
12:36 On the other side of the coin of you sitting there and watching
12:39 and not being able to help, how much fun was it?
12:43 How much satisfaction to see what Pat did when he finally
12:46 got it together?
12:48 It had to be fun for you sitting there.
12:50 Yeah, for sure.
12:52 Like as a player, you always know
12:54 that it takes one big player, one big game
13:01 to get that confidence going.
13:03 And I mean, I really--
13:05 like when you've played each other in practice that much,
13:08 you know what he's capable of.
13:09 And to see it come out like that,
13:11 like a huge 20-point game against one
13:15 of the best teams in the country,
13:17 yeah, that was a lot of fun.
13:18 Like that was great to see.
13:21 And it wasn't just once.
13:22 He had a couple, three or four really good games.
13:26 And he will have another couple more.
13:28 I'm sure of that.
13:29 So yeah, that was like the other side of the coin.
13:32 That was really fun to watch.
13:33 So--
13:34 Actually, when he comes back, his playing time
13:38 may not be the same.
13:39 I mean, when you come back, rather,
13:41 he knows the opportunities, man.
13:42 So do you offer a message or anything for him?
13:45 And obviously, he knows he'll still have some chances,
13:48 just maybe not 30 minutes a game.
13:51 Yeah, I mean, we're really close to each other.
13:55 We're good.
13:56 So I don't think there's a whole lot of negativity
13:59 going to come out of it between us.
14:01 But when we talk to each other, it's mostly about--
14:07 yeah, just trying to improve each other's game.
14:10 So when he sees something with me,
14:12 we try to help each other out.
14:13 And when I see something with him,
14:15 I really try to say, all right, I used to do that maybe.
14:21 And this is what helped for me, or something like that.
14:24 So it's going to be different, like you said.
14:26 He's going to probably go down in minutes
14:30 or get a little less chance at the five or at the four.
14:33 Like, it depends.
14:36 But I also know that he loves to play the four a lot, too.
14:42 And I think there will be plenty of opportunity.
14:46 With us rotating, like me, Cook, Quinn, and Pat,
14:50 in a four-person rotation, that's
14:53 likely going to be something that you'll be seeing.
14:55 I was just going to say, the flip side of that
14:56 is that they're probably happy that you're back,
14:58 because now they're guarding fours instead of fives.
15:00 So they're like, come on, Jesse.
15:01 Come on back.
15:02 Yeah, yeah.
15:03 So he's, like you said, it's both sides.
15:05 And it's a lot of playing time that he had.
15:09 And it's also against out-of-position players
15:11 for him.
15:12 So it's both things, I guess, for him.
15:14 Yeah.
15:15 So going back to the Kansas game for a second,
15:17 obviously you want to play in that game.
15:19 But what was the anticipation of watching it,
15:22 and then the celebration afterwards like for you?
15:25 Yeah, one of the best games of my life, even though I didn't--
15:28 I wasn't at the court at all.
15:30 It was great.
15:31 The team, we just--
15:34 that was really some great basketball to watch.
15:38 I can imagine that playing it was a lot of fun, too.
15:41 Celebration, I'd never had a course for him before.
15:43 So to have that was great.
15:47 Yeah, the whole experience was really good.
15:50 And it's just showing what we are capable of.
15:52 So that was the most-- the main thing.
15:54 How about the after celebration celebration?
15:56 [LAUGHTER]
15:58 I don't have too many answers for that one.
16:00 It was good.
16:02 For sure.
16:02 Did you have to hold your wrist up in the air or--
16:05 A little bit, yeah.
16:07 Make sure that--
16:08 That didn't get hit?
16:08 Yeah.
16:09 Yeah.
16:10 Conditioning, I mean, you were playing 38.
16:13 But 16, were you winded a little bit Saturday?
16:15 Did you notice that it--
16:17 not quite where you were?
16:18 Where are you now?
16:20 Yeah, so we did keep up with conditioning for sure.
16:22 That was one of the main points.
16:24 But playing is always different.
16:26 So you get gas a lot quicker.
16:30 But my recovery was OK.
16:31 So when I had a couple of minutes, I'll be OK to go.
16:34 But that, yeah, it takes a little--
16:37 a couple of games maybe to be right where you were.
16:40 But the gas, yeah, it definitely happens a lot quicker.
16:44 That's for sure.
16:46 Jesse, thank you.