David Hughes: Folks' recovery from knee injuries should make ISU folks take notice

Dec. 8—In the hectic world of real journalism, sometimes reporters share private jokes in the office to keep ourselves from going insane.

I can't mention some of these wisecracks in a family newspaper, but one I probably can describe is how we tease each other about "jinxing."

What I mean is, say Andy Amey or myself (or Mark Bennett, or Todd Golden, or Tom Reck, or Carl Jones, going back a few years) wrote about a good/courageous Wabash Valley athlete or team for a complimentary piece that received positive feedback, then said athlete or team almost immediately performed at a level not up to what the piece portrayed.

"Hey Andy, great job of jinxing [fill in the blank]," I might say sarcastically, although I am rarely sarcastic.

I don't want to name the people I've jinxed in print over the years because I don't want to remind them of why they hate me.

But there's another way reporters believe we have "jinxed" someone and that's when an athlete suffers an injury right after the piece appears in a wrapped-up newspaper on people's front porches. Again, specific names aren't necessary.

OK, I will identify one.

She is Indiana State women's basketball player Adrian Folks, but only because she is such a nice, kind human being who would never hate me.

Some of you alert readers might remember the circumstances that caused me to write about Folks, a 6-foot forward who opened the 2021-22 season by scoring 61 points in her first four games. My feature had "Yo Adrian, score those points" as the headline above it. (Not to brag, but I came up with that too.)

So before the Sycamores went on a pre-Thanksgiving road trip, I interviewed Folks and coach Chad Killinger. Then over the next few days, I wrote the feature. We waited for a day when there wasn't much going on to publish it.

Little did we know, however, Folks had suffered a torn ACL and MCL in a loss to Jacksonville State on Nov. 26, 2021, in Statesboro, Ga. Here in Terre Haute, we knew she scored 12 points in that game, but we didn't know anything else and my story ran a few days afterward.

I had no mention of Folks' injuries, as if she were as good as new and ready to take on the Missouri Valley Conference foes who awaited her.

But there would be no MVC foes for Folks. She was out for the season.

I'm positive my loud groan of disbelief could be heard in West Terre Haute when I learned the news, then I had to decide whether I actually jinxed Folks or not.

When I wrote the piece, she was not injured . . . so I declared myself not guilty of jinxing Ms. Adrian Folks.

Case closed.

Seriously, though, the person I felt worse for was Folks herself. I've had a few serious surgeries in my day and I knew what awaited her would be far more problematic than any MVC opponents.

Nov. 26, 2022, just passed recently. Folks is back with the Sycamores, although she's been coming off the bench and used as a role player this season.

"It's been a challenge," the redshirt junior admitted. "But I come in every day, work hard and do the things I'm supposed to do. Then I kinda let the game come to me. I don't want to force anything unnecessarily, just keep getting better every day . . . keep strengthening as far as my knee. And I just kinda let things come to me. Every day, I see progress in myself. So I'm proud of myself."

As she should be.

"She's doing fine," Killinger added. "I think it kinda depends on the game. She's really more of a true forward. So if [opponents] are playing small, sometimes it's harder to have her on the floor in those situations."

In an ISU home loss to Ohio on Nov. 26, Folks was a bright spot, scoring six points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field in 12 minutes of action.

"We put her in because she really understands how to work in the paint and that's what we were trying to get," Killinger explained. "Hopefully, in the future, we can get more of that."

Folks also underwent a scope surgery on her knee about three months ago. Although that surgery was not as serious as last year's, she acknowledged that the mental struggles of recovery are difficult to shake.

"Sometimes I can't always bring myself out of the darkest places I seem to be in," Folks admitted. "Every day, I just continue to motivate myself and continue to remember why I do what I do. It kinda helps me get through the day."

Folks is studying to be a nurse, so she's been getting more first-hand looks at medical facilities than she originally planned.

That's fine, as long as she gets more first-hand looks at various basketball rims and courts over the next few months.

"I think she's doing very well coming back," said teammate Anna McKendree, a 5-7 senior guard.

"I think she needs more confidence put back into herself and that just comes with time. It's not easy coming back off a surgery, especially being out as long as she was out. It's probably going to take a while to get that confidence back, but I'm proud of how she's stayed with it."

Folks already maintained a busy schedule of trying to become a nurse and play scholarship basketball at the same time. As one might expect, rehab sessions didn't make her life any easier.

"To have all that going on and still be coming to practice every day with the crazy schedule she already has, that shows you a lot about her," emphasized McKendree, who herself overcame a March ankle surgery to return this season.

So if anyone thinks the female Sycamores will let an occasional loss or two on the court demoralize them, think again. They've beaten tougher opponents off the court and returned just fine.

I'll keep my fingers crossed on that.

David Hughes can be reached by phone at 1-800-783-8742 or at (812) 231-4224 (although he rarely answers his phone) or by email at david.hughes@tribstar.com.