photo by Madison Turiczek
Sophomore center Sam Weir is recovering from a season ending knee injury, and is currently in rehabilitation to come back next season.

Sophomore center Sam Weir emphatically blocked a shot in practice Nov. 21, but when she landed back on the ground, her knee gave out.

Shortly thereafter, she learned she had torn multiple ligaments in her knee and needed surgery.

Refusing to give up, Weir attacked her rehabilitation with the same fierce determination that has earned her success on the basketball court, and hopes to return better than before.

“I’ve never had to sit out of a practice before,” Weir said. “It has been tougher mentally than physically.”

Weir has played basketball since fifth grade, but she originally focused on softball. It was not until her sophomore year at Riverside High School in Ellwood City that she decided to focus solely on basketball.

Originally, Weir attended Seton Hill University, but found after one year it was not a good fit. She began to look elsewhere, but nothing seemed right. That is, until Point Park women’s basketball head coach Tony Grenek gave her a call.

“He sold me on everything,” Weir said. “He scheduled a tour and I liked what I saw. I really liked coach Grenek and the program.”

In her first season at Point Park, Weir established herself as a force in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC). She ended her first season with 490 points, 309 rebounds and 99 blocks in 34 games.

Weir and the rest of Point Park’s women’s basketball team came into this season fresh off an appearance in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division II National Tournament, and expectations were high for the team this year as well.

“I definitely had high hopes for this season,” Weir said. “We brought in Kelly Johnson, who’s an awesome point guard, and I personally thought I was doing really well at the start of the season.”

In the first scrimmage of the year, the Pioneers dominated Slippery Rock, and in their opening game, the Pioneers defeated NAIA Division I opponent, West Virginia Tech. The Pioneers would go on to win their first four games of the season, before losing to Davis & Elkins in Weir’s final game of the season.

Starting last season, Weir began to have a nagging pain in her knee that did not relent this season.

“My dad was mad at me because I could have gotten it checked out last year when I said my knee felt like jelly,” Weir said. “Actually the day of the tear I texted my dad asking for a brace.”

The fateful injury occurred one day in practice.

“I went up and blocked a shot, and the best way to describe it is when I came down my knee wasn’t there anymore,” Weir said. “I immediately fell to the ground and started screaming.”

As Weir laid on the court in agony, the rest of the team instantly knew something was wrong.

“You could tell she wasn’t going down right and you heard a loud pop,” freshman guard Shaniya Rivers said. “Everyone got quiet and we knew it was serious. I immediately ran to her and saw it swell.”

“When she screamed, I knew it was bad. It’s unfortunate she got hurt. The block she did was amazing,” junior guard Leah Hurst, who is currently sidelined with her own injury, said.

In her career, Weir had never missed a game, or even a practice for that matter.

She was rushed to the UPMC Sports Medicine Center, where she underwent an X-ray and MRI. The diagnosis was grim: She had torn her meniscus, MCL, PCL and ACL.

“I started crying and the first thing I asked was if I’d ever play again,” Weir said.

The doctors reassured Weir she would play again, but the recovery time would be a year. The MRI also showed that Weir had played all of last season with a torn ACL.

As soon as Weir received the diagnosis, she forwarded it to the team.

“At first we thought it was a slight twist or something,” Rivers said. “We thought she would have time to rest over winter break. We finally found out what she tore and we gathered together to be strong for her.”

For Grenek, the news was devastating.

“It was heartbreaking,” Grenek said. “Obviously, because she was a great player. She was leading our team in scoring, rebounds and blocks, but more than that it was devastating to me because she came into this season with such a great attitude.”

Weir went into surgery Jan. 12, and since then she has worked to cut her recovery time down significantly.

“Before the surgery her ACL was already repairing itself,” Hurst said. “That was really surprising to me I’ve never heard of that before. She’s a freak of nature. She heals quickly.”

Though physically Weir felt much better, the injury put a massive strain on her mentally.

“After the surgery I felt really good,” Weir said. “Physically, I didn’t feel much pain, but mentally, I felt really depressed. I couldn’t go watch practice without wanting to cry.”

Along with being Weir’s teammate, Hurst was also Weir’s roommate. Since Hurst had suffered these kinds of injuries before she was able to help Weir physically and mentally.

“I tore my ACL in high school, which is why I can relate to her so well,” Hurst said. “I just kept telling her it’s going to be better and that her knee will get stronger with dedication. The first two weeks I helped the most. I cooked for her, and even helped bathe her. We became like sisters because of the whole situation.”

After the surgery, Weir was forced to use crutches and a brace, but by Feb. 10 she did not need them anymore. Thus far, Weir has not begun rehab, but recently she was allowed to start working on the bike and range of motion exercises.

Though Weir was not able to play for the team this season, she found other ways to aid her teammates.

“I still went to the games,” Weir said. “At the games I told them in a calm manner what they were doing wrong. Personally, as a player, I hate coming to the bench and getting yelled at.”

For her teammates, this support was crucial.

“She was on the bench yelling as loud as the coaches,” Rivers said. “She told us how to adjust and make things better. She was a huge supporter and got everyone hyped.”

At this point, Weir will be able to run again in a couple months, and according to doctors, her recovery time went from almost a year to seven months. Weir hopes to be back by August, just in time for the start of the basketball season.

Luckily for Weir, since she only played five games this season, she managed to redshirt. That means she gets a fifth year of eligibility. For her, this not only ensures one more year of collegiate competition, but it pushes back thoughts of what comes after Point Park.

She is currently a civil engineering major, and is contemplating playing overseas after college.

“Luckily, since I redshirted, it gave me an extra year to put off everything,” Weir said. “I’m kind of a homebody, but I realize going overseas would be an awesome experience I’ll never have again. I’m sure if the right person persuades me, I will.”