ASHEBORO, N.C. — The high school basketball playoffs roll Friday with several Triads, teams are still vying for a state title, and the Asheboro High School boys' team is among them.
However, they have to move forward without one of their best players after a scary situation took away one of their stars.
The Asheboro Blue Comets boy's basketball team has already picked up 23 wins this season, the most ever during Coach Brian Nance's tenure with the program, but win number 23, one of the biggest pieces to the Blue Comets' success, a hooper suffered a very scary injury.
"As I went up, it felt like I went too far. Then I slipped off the rim, and I tried to grab it. But I don't remember much after that. I don't even remember hitting the ground", Asheboro Senior, Jerquarius 'JQ' Stanback said.
"It scared me, it shook me up. He was parallel right underneath that basket. He hit shoulders and headfirst, and I'm not going to lie. My first thoughts were that he broke his neck because he just went limp", is how Asheboro Head Coach, Brian Nance described Tuesday night's horrific scene.
Asheboro was in the middle of a 4th quarter, 13-point comeback in round one of the playoffs when their best player, Jerquarius Stanback took a scary fall.
"I was just confused honestly because I didn't know what was going on until they told me", is how Stanback described falling off the rim almost 10 feet to the ground.
"When they finally got him calmed down, and rolled over, he wanted to know if he made it. He wanted to know what the score was, and how much time was left. And when he heard we were up 5 with a minute and change to go. He said to tell the coach to hold the ball, so he was coaching from his back while the paramedics were working with him", Coach Nance went on to say.
Blue Comets assistant Coach Eerie Greene said he had to help rally the troops, "I said if you really want to help JQ, let's win this basketball game. I told the boys, we have to get our emotions in check and get ourselves together so we can win this ball game".
"I really didn't care about me. I just hoped our team won the game, and we did", JQ said.
The Blue Comets did pick up the win but they did lose JQ for the next round of the playoffs due to a concussion where he now has four staples in the back of his head, a broken finger, and a dislocated wrist.
"It's been kind of rough for me, but I don't let my teammates see. I want them to stay motivated so I encourage them as much as I can", is how Stanback described the last few days since the fall.
No matter how the season ends for Jerquarius and the Blue Comets, the bond this team has is unbreakable.
"We told them in the locker room that we were probably more proud of them after that game than after the conference tournament championship. Because of the situation, they were in", Coach Nance said.
"At the end of the day. You know he's that young man who is going to do great things because he's so easy to like and love", Greene went on to say.
"My teammates they love me, coaches, everyone loves me, and this year has been so memorable in so many ways", Stanback said.