High school basketball: Two ACL tears can't stop Medina's Aly Dwyer

Aly Dwyer is one of those people who needs to compete. Finally, she has the knees to do it. After missing two straight postseasons due to twice tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee, the senior point guard will be in the starting lineup for the 26th straight game tonight at 8 when the 19-6 Medina girls basketball team takes on GlenOak (17-4) in a Medina Division I Regional semifinal. It's part of a journey that has included two surgeries, the second of which involved removing the patella tendon in her left knee so it could be used as the ACL in her right one, and six- and 10-month rehabilitation processes that were as draining mentally as they were physically. There were a number of times when Dwyer was down, but parents Jill and Frank were always there to offer an encouraging word or shoulder to cry on. So were Dwyer's teammates and Bees coach Karen Kase, who used contacts she had made as a WNBA employee to have a number of pro and college athletes reach out to her hurting player. "It was pretty devastating," Dwyer said Monday. "But with my teammates, my coaches and my parents, I have a great support system. That's what really helped me push through." Kase, whose voice cracked the moment she started talking about her senior leader, thought highly enough of Dwyer's athleticism, heady play and tremendous desire to learn more about the game that she put her on the varsity team as a freshman. Now that Dwyer has overcome two surgeries, the eighth-year coach has even more admiration for the 5-foot-8 senior. "I'm going to cry," Kase said before pausing to collect herself. "It's been amazing. She has that resolve — we knew that before — but it's been magnified by 50. She's the heart of our team. It was crushing to see her go through it, but now, on the other side of it, it's so rewarding to see her play and be a key factor in our season." It was Kase who found a way to have University of Washington product Kelsey Plum, the all-time NCAA scoring leader and now Dwyer's favorite pro player with the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces, former Massillon Jackson High and current Oregon standout Taylor Mikesell, former Cavs guard and current television analyst Austin Carr and former Iowa player Tania Davis, who tore her ACL three times, offer encouraging words to her ailing player. "That meant so much to me," the 17-year-old Dwyer said. "Kase is truly amazing to reach out to so many people to help me and motivate me. To know people cared was truly amazing. I'm forever grateful to Kase and the people that reached out to me." Dwyer, a hoops aficionado who knows the women's college game and WNBA inside and out, attended the 2018 Final Four at Ohio State's Value City Arena, where she and then Medina teammate Madison Luthy saw Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale hit a last-second shot to beat Mississippi State in the title game. Dwyer was especially happy to not only hear from Plum, who has ties to the Cleveland area, but to get the opportunity to meet her. "She came in to talk to us once and I got to see part of her workout," she said. "It was incredible." Dwyer knows a thing or two about working out. More to the point, she knows a thing or two or 100 about rehabilitation. THE FIRST TEAR After a solid freshman season — "It was really eye-opening and scary at times," she said — Dwyer's sophomore campaign was progressing well heading into a Jan. 12, 2019 home game vs. Shaker Heights. Dribbling the ball near midcourt, Dwyer planted her right foot to make a cut at the same time the girl guarding her decided to go for a steal. There was contact, Dwyer's right knee gave out and she fell to the floor. "I felt the pop, so I knew it couldn't be good," she said. "I remember seeing black for a while and I was like, 'Uh-oh.'" After being attended to by Medina trainer Louie DeJesus, Dwyer was informed she probably had torn her ACL. Eighteen days later, she underwent surgery, where a small tear to her meniscus also was repaired. While spending four weeks on crutches, Dwyer went through physical therapy three times a week. "That was mentally hard and draining," she said. "My muscles had atrophied, so it took me awhile to be able to lift my leg off the floor under my own power. It was hard for me mentally to get over that hurdle." Unable to play for the Bees, who advanced to the regional semifinals that season, Dwyer served as a scout and assistant coach for Kase. "It was hard not being able to contribute on the court, but that team made me feel like I was still contributing," she said, giving special thanks to Luthy, Abby McMullen and Lindsey Linard. "It was as memorable to me as if I was on the floor. Even though I was hurt, I was still a part of it." Three months following her first surgery, Dwyer had progressed to the point where she was able to jog and do some light jumping exercises. By mid-July, she was cleared for full activity. Following a family vacation, she attended a basketball camp at West Point, which her father attended, in early August. "There was definitely a little doubt in the back of my mind, but overall I felt pretty confident in my knee," she said. "I felt like I was pretty ready." It helped that Dwyer also had been doing some long-distance running in preparation for her junior cross country season. She wasn't in peak basketball condition, but she was in excellent shape when it came to cardiovascular endurance. "I was exhausted by the end of the camp, but I was in good enough shape to get through it," she said. "For the first time being full-go, I thought I played pretty well." THE SECOND TEAR Having successfully completed her junior year of cross country in the fall, Dwyer was raring to go when basketball season began. Not only did she feel great physically, she had healed enough mentally that she was no longer wearing a knee brace. Then, in just the fourth game of the season, a 56-43 win at Strongsville on Dec. 4, 2019, she drove to the right elbow, planted and was about to make a pass to close friend Sarah McKee when, without any contact, her right knee gave out and she fell to the ground. "Your heart just stops a little," Kase said. "She looked right at her mom in the stands. I went right out there because I had a bad feeling." This time, Dwyer didn't need an opinion from a trainer or diagnosis from a doctor. "I knew immediately I had torn it again," she said. "I felt the pop and the instant pain. I knew exactly what it was." Dwyer underwent surgery two days after Christmas, but this time the recovery period was 10 months instead of six. "She's had to watch the (last two) tournament runs in sweats, as an assistant coach," Kase said. "It was very difficult for her, but she learned a ton. "The only good part was she was a junior and had another year. It's changed her life, her basketball plans and her post-high school plans, but it's made her very strong and resilient and mentally tough." Because the tear was Dwyer's second and doctors removed her left patella tendon to replace her right ACL, she wasn't cleared for full activity until October 2020, or just in time for her senior season of basketball. "There was no question she was going to go for it and work her butt off, but it's crushing to see someone have to go through that," Kase said. "It's lonely at times, but you know what? She got real positive and put on a stoic face and came to work every day." THE LAST YEAR These days, Dwyer wears a thin elastic band above her left calf to help alleviate some of the pain she now feels in that knee. Her right knee is wrapped with a bandage, over which she wears a brace while playing. "I hate it," she said of the brace. "It's not that heavy, but it's clunky and it's just ... there. My teammates run into it sometimes and it gives them bruises. I'm always telling them I'm sorry." As far as Dwyer's teammates are concerned, the apologies are totally unnecessary. "It was definitely hard for her being on the sideline, but she persevered through that to come back a lot stronger," McKee said. "She's a great leader on and off the court. She calms us down on the floor when we need it." Initially hoping to attend West Point like her dad — she qualified academically but couldn't meet all the medical requirements — Dwyer now plans to attend Ohio University and become part of the school's Reserve Officers' Training Corps. With a 4.3 grade-point average, score of 28 on the ACT and active involvement in a number of organizations at Medina, her goal is to make the military a career and advance as far as she can as an officer. "Hearing stories from my dad about his experiences really intrigued me," she said. "The structure and the leadership in the military also really intrigues me." Before heading off to Ohio U, though, Dwyer will continue to operate as Medina's floor general. Her statistics — 3.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists — in no way indicate how valuable she is to the Bees, who are attempting to win their first regional game since 1982. "I don't care about stats," Dwyer said. "I care about winning and getting my teammates the best shots they can get. I think of myself as a leader and floor general on the court. This (tournament run) feels like redemption for me personally. It's an incredible feeling. It feels surreal. We all wanted it and we're hoping to keep it going. "Coming back (from surgery) this time was harder than the first one, but my great support system helped me through. Whenever I have doubts, there's this great quote I try to follow: 'Day by day, step by step.'" Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on Twitter.