The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Keeping it 100
Akok Akok is fully healed from Achilles injury
STORRS — There are a few numbers Dan Hurley likes to trot out when eyeing the upcomig season.
One is 45:07 — as in, UConn must use the disappointing, final 45 minutes, 7 seconds of its 202021 season as motivation.
Another is 18. As in 18 months. As in, that’s typically how long it takes for a basketball player to fully recover from Achilles tendon surgery.
Within the next month, Akok Akok will be 18 months removed from the torn left Achilles tendon he suffered within the first minute of a Feb. 16, 2020 game against Memphis at XL Center. He has since undergone a grueling rehab regimen, much of it through the early days of COVID-19, with the rest of the UConn campus virtually shut down.
He came back earlier than expected last season, debuting on Jan. 9 at Butler. There were a few “I’m back” moments, most notably on Feb. 12 at Xavier — a 3-pointer, a finger roll, a blocked shot ... seven points in 10 minutes off the bench.
But, for the most part, there was frustration on Akok’s part, a mysterious shin injury and, ultimately, the realization that he wasn’t really ready to come back. Certainly not at the production level of his freshman season, when the 6-foot-9 forward was one of the top shot-blockers in the country, entrenched in the starting lineup.
Akok played nary a minute in UConn’s final five games last season.
“Coming back, I wanted to be one of the best defensive players, but it was hard, because when you’re away from the game for a long time, your timing is off,” he said on Wednesday outside the Werth Family Champions Center. “I never thought I would come to that point. When I got back, blocking shots, I didn’t know it was as difficult as that. Now, with all these months to work on my game, it’s all coming back. I’m very appreciative of the grind.”
Indeed, Akok is nearing that 18-month mark.
“I feel 100-percent,” Akok said. “I’m doing it on both ends again. I can’t wait to showcase that this season.”
He says he’s added about 13-15 pounds of muscle, and certainly looks thicker, stronger. His routine every day, along with his time
practicing with the team, includes putting up shots, getting in cardio work on the treadmill, stretching, still rehabbing.
“I missed playing a lot,” Akok noted. “When the game’s taken away from you, you don’t really realize how much gratitude you have for the game. I’m very thankful that I’m back, that I can play basketball again. You don’t understand how important basketball is to me.”
He took inspiration from watching other high-level basketball players return from Achilles tears, most notably Kevin Durant.
“Seeing KD come back and do what he did this season, it really helped me a lot,” Akok said. “He came out and just killed this whole year. That was really a confidence-booster. It really helped me a lot, mentally. I just can’t wait to come out next season.”
Still, it’s been anything but easy for the Sudanese native who has lived almost all his life in Manchester, New Hampshire. The toughest part, the lowest point, was showing up to games last winter knowing he wasn’t going to play a lot — or at all.
“Practice was really the only time where I could get better every day and improve my athleticism,” he noted. “I knew what I was going through, and that the coaches had my best interest (in mind). They’d talk to me every day and say, ‘Your time is coming.’ I would hold onto that. It would uplift me.”
It would also infuriate him, and at times, he wasn’t the most patient listener. Coach Dan Hurley has admitted that he had some contentious conversations last season with Akok, who was itching to play and contribute more.
“It was tough, I wanted to play so badly,” Akok recalled. “But they had the best interests for me. I wanted to play, but I knew I had to trust what they were saying, what my doctor was saying, what the coaches were saying. It’s gotten me to this point, and I’m very grateful.”
There was, of course, that Xavier game.
“That was the moment I was waiting for,” he said. “I knew I wasn’t going to get a lot of production, but I wanted to contribute as much as I (could).”
There weren’t many more moments after that. After the season, Akok was able to return to his home in Manchester for a few weeks for the first time since the previous summer
“It was good for me, mentally, to see my family and friends — most importantly my dad (Reyak),” he said. “I hadn’t seen him since the last summer. He’s really the guy I play basketball for. Every time I step on the court, I play for him. It was good seeing him.”
Now, Akok is back on campus, back participating fully in practice, blocking shots, hitting jumpers and looking to be a key part of what Hurley calls possibly one of the best frontcourts in the country.
On his feet are a pair of sneakers, given to him by teammate Tyler Polley, with “Phil 4:13” written on both. It’s a refernce to Philippians 4:13, a Bible verse that says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
On his shoulder is a chip, along with a burning desire to get back to being a shotblocking menace once again.
“I look next year to be one of the best defensive players in the country again,” he said. “Reclaim that.”
And on his face is that megawatt smile, one that
returned briefly on Feb. 12 against Xavier, but has largely been missing since that torn Achilles tendon suffered on Feb. 16, 2020.
Now, nearly 18 months later, Akok Akok is 100percent again. Just ask his teammates.
“I promise you right now, he’s ready,” sophomore Adama Sanogo reported. “It’s good to have him back.”
“He’s been living in the gym,” added junior Jalen Gaffney. “He looks great.”
As Akok answered questions on Wednesday, a backdrop with UConn logos on it nearly fell on him before someone caught it, saving Akok from potentially another (very minor) injury.
“A lot of highs and lows,” he said, wistfully, of the past 18 months. “It was a long road, a journey of 1,000 miles. But I”m here, and I feel great.”