Gant on the mend after major spinal cord injury

When the Penn men's basketball team traveled to Cornell last season, all that Khaliq Gant could do was listen to the game from his bed in a spinal-rehabilitation center in Atlanta.

But when the Quakers host Cornell this coming February, Gant will have a much better view of the action - he'll be sitting on the bench at the Palestra next to his teammates and coaches.

And for anyone that was with him at practice on Jan. 24 last season at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y., the fact that Gant will even be able to walk onto the bus by himself is amazing enough.

During that practice, the 6-foot-2 Cornell guard collided with two other players during a loose-ball drill, leaving him motionless on the floor. Shortly thereafter, he was airlifted to Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira, N.Y., and placed in the intensive-care unit.

At the hospital, doctors discovered that Gant had dislocated the fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae, both of which provide support to the cervical cords that control the movement of the neck and upper body.

Immediately, the doctors performed a seven-hour operation in which bone was taken from his hip to fuse together the vertebrae before they were stabilized by screws.

Eight months later, Gant is right back where he started - taking classes, acting as a residential advisor and working out with the basketball team.

"I feel great," Gant said. "I'm glad to be at school, and now I'm just working out and trying to get back."

Cornell coach Steve Donahue is, like everyone else, stunned by Gant's recovery.

"For the guys who were here last year to see him in the situation we saw him, to see him living his life literally out of a straw for two months, and to see where he's at now, it's an unbelievable joy and a great inspiration," Donahue said.

Currently, Gant's goal is to be back in uniform for the 2007-2008 season - he will not play this year.

But by attending practice and lifting with the team, he has slowly but surely started to work his way back to where he was before the injury.

"My teammates have been very supportive," Gant said. "They've let me work at my own pace, and they've been with me through the whole ordeal."

According to Donahue, Gant has made "tremendous progress" in weightlifting and conditioning, and he started jogging last week.

For Gant, being around the team and the basketball environment has inspired him in his comeback effort.

"Working out with the team is a great motivation factor," Gant said.

Donahue also noted that Gant's injury has slightly changed his perspective on life and on coaching basketball.

"I really appreciate my own health, the health of my players and of my family," Donahue said. "I don't discard that as much like I maybe had in the past."

With the basketball season on the horizon, Gant pretty impressed with what he's seen in practice so far.

"I think we definitely have a good chance of taking the league this year," Gant said.

And if his teammates take after his work ethic, then the Quakers will have their work cut out for them in their quest to three-peat.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.