PROVO — Not long before tipoff Thursday night at Portland, sophomore forward Gavin Baxter was in uniform for warmups for the first time this season — and dunking emphatically.
Baxter hasn’t played in a game since last season after he suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder in late September during practice. Since undergoing surgery, Baxter has been rehabbing and working to return to the court.
“He’s so determined and wants so badly to help this team any way he can down the stretch. We’ll see how that goes. We’ll see if I have a little more courage on Saturday.” — BYU coach Mark Pope, on Gavin Baxter
Last Tuesday, Baxter was cleared to play by doctors and he participated in his first live practice of the season.
With three minutes left in the Cougars’ 85-54 rout of the Pilots, coach Mark Pope told Baxter to check into the game.
“And then he sat there and I was like, ‘I can’t do it,’” Pope said, who summoned Baxter back to the bench. “I had a long conversation with his family. I had a long conversation with him. They really want to do this. But it’s still costly. He’d been sitting for two hours and he just got into live contact. I freaked out. The second he checks into the game, it’s expensive. But he’s so determined and wants so badly to help this team any way he can down the stretch. We’ll see how that goes. We’ll see if I have a little more courage on Saturday.”
That’s when BYU hosts San Francisco.
There are six regular-season games remaining but Baxter is willing to give up a season of eligibility to play the rest of this season. He certainly would provide the Cougars more depth and athleticism. The 6-foot-9 Baxter recorded a jaw-dropping 44-inch vertical leap during a mock NBA combine workout at BYU before his shoulder injury.