Holland bounces back easily from injury

WEST HARTFORD, CONN. — Even with a successful regular season completed and his first America East Player of the Year Award firmly in hand, there seemed to be more speculation, uncertainty and concern for senior forward John Holland and the Boston University men’s basketball team as they entered their quarterfinal game against University of New Hampshire in the conference tournament on Saturday.

Questions lingered and festered surrounding the status of Holland’s left ankle, which he injured in the first half in the Terriers’ 53-51 win over Binghamton University on Feb. 24. It was an ailment that forced him out of BU’s final regular season game, a 66-64 win over the University of Vermont last Sunday. It kept him on crutches for several days following the Binghamton game, keeping him in a limited capacity in the team’s practices leading up to the AE Tournament.

Is this how the decorated senior’s career was destined to end, reduced to sitting out or limping around the court as his team chased the conference’s ultimate prize, a championship and a coveted berth in the NCAA Tournament – two things which Holland has yet to accomplish in his time on Commonwealth Ave?

After an almost nine-day period of so much doubt and skepticism, maybe it’s fitting that the Bronx, N.Y. native was able to work through it all with relative ease, giving an indication of how much credence he gave the questions surrounding his ankle.

“It’s fine,” Holland eloquently stated while shrugging his shoulders after the game.

Indeed, for Holland and his BU team, all was fine as they were able to silence and dismiss any concern over Holland’s joint with a 69-60 win over New Hampshire, a win in which Holland tallied a game-high 17 points – 11 of which came in the first half — in leading his team to victory.

He finished the game having shot only 6-of-15 from the field, but provided key contributions on the offensive end, shouldering a good amount of the offensive load for while providing key contributions in big moments – a missed dunk in the second half aside – for his team.

But perhaps even more important than his scoring output was what could not be witnessed on a stat sheet or box score – that is, his movement on the court and the way he played, which could have convinced someone who knew nothing of his situation that there was nothing ailing him whatsoever.

Through the entirety of the team-high 36 minutes he logged, at no point did Holland limp, pull up, cringe or take pressure off his left side. Simply put, he was the same John Holland who has suited up and excelled for the Terriers in his four years on the team. He was the same player who put a remodeled team on his back to lead them to a second-place finish in the conference, an effort that earned him the conference’s highest honor.

Although Holland wouldn’t elaborate much on his injury, his opposition noted that not much seemed too different from the player they planned and planned against for the past several seasons.

“That sure looked like the John Holland that I know,” said New Hampshire guard Tyrone Conley, a third-team All-AE honoree.

Wildcats guard Chandler Rhoads, who guarded Holland for most of the game, echoed his teammates’ sentiment.

“It sure didn’t look like anything was bothering him,” Rhoads said.

If anything, Holland’s performance reflected his team’s ability to succeed and persevere through injuries that have afflicted it throughout the entire season, notably junior forward Jake O’Brien’s season-ending foot injury.

But it is also emblematic of a player who, regardless of what may ail him or threaten to limit him on the court, is determined with his team to continue to chase its season-long goal, something that would be a fitting end to what has already been a celebrated career for Holland – a chance to win the conference tournament and earn a right to play on the game’s biggest stage in the NCAA Tournament.