Grit with grace: After 22 months of ACL rehabs, Nebraska's Allison Weidner returns wiser, excited

LINCOLN Allison Weidner has done the math on the time between a gasp-inducing crash underneath one basket at Pinnacle Bank Arena and the moment Sunday when she returns to the PBA court.

Itll be 676 days since Ive played in a basketball game, she said.

Sundays game is an exhibition against Doane.

Doesnt count in the win/loss column.

Counts for a lot in the life column.

Im pretty positive Ill be pretty emotional, the 5-foot-10 Nebraska junior guard said.

The Humphrey native is confident, too, despite spending the last 22 months rehabbing two torn ACLs first in her left knee, then the right just to get back to the court.

She knows the game better.

She believes the knee injuries are behind her.

And shes found her own voice, strong, a little humorous, wise.

Weidner was a fan favorite for her hustle, her grit, her sheer will, especially on defense.

And to hear Weidner and NU coach Amy Williams tell it, thats all still there.

Shes got that same work ethic, Williams said.

Diving on the floor, playing hard, this relentlessness about her game.

Weidner has something else, too, that she didnt learn because a floor burn.

I always hear Coach Williams voice in my head, give yourself some grace, Weidner said.

And the maturity Ive gained from these injuries has allowed me to do that.

Its just been a lot easier this time around.

Ill tell you: When I was trying to come back from my first one, there was not a lot of grace given to myself.

I was very hard on myself.

Of course, shed been basically indestructible as a high school athlete at Humphrey St.

Francis, winning 10 total state titles across basketball, volleyball and track, where she won crowns in the 400 and 800 meters, plus a title in the 3200-meter relay.

At NU, she became a true freshman starter on a NCAA tournament team.

As a sophomore, she blossomed into a guard who shot 54.1% from the floor, scored 10.2 points per game and grabbed 6.2 rebounds.

Her stat line in an upset win over Maryland still stands out: 13 points, 15 rebounds, five assists.

That was Dec.

4, 2022.

On Dec.

21, the long, hard stretch began with a fourth quarter play against Kansas.

The video, still available on YouTube, shows a warriors knee injury.

After a steal, KU has a 3-on-1 fast break as it crosses the half-court line.

Weidner is 10 feet behind as the lead Jayhawk reaches the free throw line and slows to attempt a layup.

Weidner, sprinting, knocks away the ball before it ever leaves the Jayhawks hands.

But Weidners going much too fast, and, after she lands, she crashes hard into a camera operator underneath the hoop.

She grabs her left knee and remains there until she is eventually helped off the court to the locker room, her face in agony.

The sprint, the crash, the injury, the warriors exit its all a testament to who Weidner is as a player, and what shed do for a single defensive play.

The second knee injury? Quiet gym.

No game.

No crowd.

No crash.

Same agony.

It was a 6 a.m.

practice on Friday the 13th, of course and I was going up for a right-handed layup, Weidner said.

No contact, and my right knee just buckled.

Weidners done the math here, too.

She says shes seen a stat that 26% of girls and womens athletes who tear one ACL tear the other within two years.

I fell into that percentage, is the way I see it, Weidner said.

She went back to the Devaney Center training room where shed conducted her first rehab, knowing, from experience, when things get toughest.

Its not right after the surgery but months later, when rehab is still tough but folks figure youre on the road to recovery, and they stop checking in as much.

I know how lonely it can get sometimes, Weidner said.

Weidner kept her optimism by watching the game through a coachs eyes, giving tidbits, Williams said, during timeouts and in practices.

She found a way to lead last year even when she wasnt in the fire, Williams said.

And Weidner developed a different perspective on her game and approach.

Shed always been a go, go, go player in games, never slowing down.

During 22 months on the bench, she recognized that playing with pace doesnt negate the value of having multiple gears to her speed.

Take my time to make my reads, she said.

Teammates and coaches helped Weidner through tough, tedious stretches.

Each month, on the anniversary of her second knee surgery, Williams sent Weidner a little saying or note to acknowledge the journey.

And it was huge for me, Weidner said.

It kept me going hard, kept me wanting to get to the next month.

When training camp opened in mid-September, Weidners grit and hustle were still there.

She joked that she might have even scared folks when she went diving onto the floor.

That part of her game, she wont change.

Some aspects like her basketball IQ and her poise have improved.

And some things may not come back right away.

After 22 months, Weidner will reacclimate to college basketball.

In that way, she feels like a freshman all over again.

Shes part of a deep backcourt, too, full of options, so shell have to fight hard for minutes.

That makes practice fun, Weidner said, but it also gives Nebraska a little latitude to bring her back wisely.

Allison and I have talked long and hard about the maturity of coming back from this, and that rust is going to be there, Williams said.

And if you allow yourself to be frustrated, in the process of knocking off that rust, usually that process takes a little longer.

Some rust could come off in three weeks, Williams tells Weidner.

Some, perhaps longer.

But after 676 days, Weidners back on the court.

Even if its an exhibition against Doane.

Shell see her parents, Dan and Cathy, family, friends and teammates, and there might not be too many dry eyes.

Williams said shes already shed a few tears over Weidners return in a closed scrimmage against North Dakota State.

Weidners surgeon told her the knees are awesome, good inside and out, that her two injuries were the result of bad luck.

Sunday, bad luck runs out as the cheers rise up.

Ill just be soaking in the moment, because its going to be very special, Weidner said.

Im finally going to be able to see all the hard work Ive done, for the past 22 months, pay off.

Williams expects all Huskers to be available for Sundays game, although the Huskers will tread carefully with Logan Nissley, the sharpshooter who underwent offseason feet surgery after a successful freshman year.

Williams intends for 18-year-old true freshman center Petra Bozan to play this season no redshirt despite arriving just months ago from Croatia.

Shes 6-4, shes long, she can finish out of her frame, she can play defense in a stance, Williams said of Bozan.

Shes just real crafty.

She can go right, she can go left, she can block some shots and shes just real handy with touch.

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