For every player who considers sitting out because of the slightest discomfort, get ready for some side-eye. Last season, Iowa basketball Cordell Pemsl shut down the opportunity for any of the Hawkeyes to call in sick to practice.
How? He played the entire year with two torn groins.
According to Hawkeyenation.com, Pemsl underwent sports hernia surgery a month ago after the season was over. He says he noticed discomfort before a game on November 25th against Virgina but ignored it.
Because he was able to play 18 minutes that night, and 17 minutes the next night, trainers assumed it was just a strain.
Nope.
“I felt it every practice and every game. Once I started getting loose and warmed up a little bit it would go away a little but I always had that pain in the back of my mind and after the season is when I found out I had torn both of my groins. So, I guess I was playing on torn groins all season,” he said.
More impressive still is what he was able to output with two serious, concurrent injuries. The 6-foot-8 freshman managed to average 8.9 points and 5 rebounds per game.
With his height, and the fact that the tips the scale at a lean 250 pounds without sacrificing speed or agility, Pemsl certainly has the body of an NBA basketball player. His toughness can certainly never be called into question.
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