When four-star Rivals150 guard Ty Jerome came to the realization that hip surgery was going to end his senior season prematurely, he was devastated. But he also knew it was an opportunity to come back even stronger than before.
Almost five months removed from that decision to have his hips operated on, the 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard from New Rochelle (NY) Iona Prep is now in the midst of rehab while also preparing for a couple of big events in the near future.
Currently the No. 50 overall player in the 2016 class, the UVa signee will be graduating from high school at the end of the month. Then he will make his way to Charlottesville to prepare for his first season as a Wahooo.
“Surgery went really well and rehab is going really smoothly now,” Jerome told CavsCorner this weekend. “I’ve just been really diligent with it every day. I’m lifting five days a week right now and doing physical therapy. I’m back on the court now every day and doing everything I can.
"Rehab," he added, "is the easy part. The hard part is staying patient.”
That's something Jerome knew would be difficult for him when he found out he was going to need surgery. Sitting on the sideline and watching his teammates play wasn’t something he was used to. It wasn’t something that he was going to deal with without some frustration.
“It feels great just to be back on the court,” he explained said. “Not being able to do anything after the surgery was certainly hard. I missed it so much that it is good to be able to do anything right now.”
After committing to the Cavaliers back in September 2014, Jerome has expanding his game and even after his recent setback, is now more than halfway through his recovery process as he hopes to be back 100 percent healthy sooner rather than later.
When asked to put a percentage on how healthy he is currently, Jerome said, "“That’s a tough one but I would say about 50 to 60 percent right now. I can’t explode yet. I can’t really sprint yet. I’m free to take stationary jump shots and I’m doing some light jogging. I can get in a stance and do ball handling drills. My flexibility and range of motion is back and my strength is coming back.”
Jerome said he hopes to be healthy enough to play during UVa’s European trip in August. But he also conceded that he needs to continue to stay patient throughout the recovery process.
“From a basketball perspective, I’m just trying to keep my game fresh and keep working,” Jerome said. “I just need to keep rehabbing until I get to UVa and then I’ll be in Coach (Mike) Curtis’ hands. I’m not making it a goal to play on the European trip. Obviously it is something that I’d love to do and that I’m aiming towards, but you can’t really rush the recovery process. I can’t rush back because the season is more important.”
Talks of a redshirt year for Jerome was tossed around when the surgery was made public but he now says that he could be healthy enough to play as a first-year this upcoing season.
“The plan is not to redshirt,” Jerome said. “But obviously if it’s needed then it is something I’ll do.”
While he is part of a Top 10 recruiting class nationally, neither Jerome or his future teammates put much stock in that. They just want to get on Grounds and help the Cavaliers win.
“Honestly, it doesn’t mean much because people don’t remember where your class was ranked come the season,” Jerome said. “I’m just honored to be a part of a great program at UVa and being around such great guys. I’m excited for that, but I couldn’t even tell you what our class was ranked or anything like that.”
