Courtesy of Florida A&M Sports Information


Injuries happen all the time in sports. Some will sideline you for a few days, while others last for few weeks or months.
 
However, if the injury is severe, athletes could be out for a year or more. But it's the rehabilitation process that's most important. Will you be the same explosive athlete you were before the injury, or will your career change post-rehab? 
 
For former Florida A&M University women's basketball player Corey Staples, her career took an unexpected turn while she was a student at the University of Florida.
 
Staples spent two years at Florida before transferring to FAMU as a graduate student for the 2019-20 basketball season. Growing up, Staples always wanted to be a Gator, after all, it was her dream school.
 
"My mother and brother graduated from UF, so as a child I always wanted to go there," Staples said. "When I was a sophomore in high school, I committed to UF as a preferred walk-on because my love to be a Gator was so strong." 
 
Her path to UF took a bit of a detour because she had to be accepted into the school first. A preferred walk-on is not guaranteed a scholarship. 
 
Staples' journey led her to Santa Fe College, a junior college (state college) in Gainesville, for two years. After junior college, she had the choice to either go to a university on a full scholarship or head to her dream school as a preferred walk-on. 
 
With the two options, Staples elected to bypass a full scholarship and attend her dream school. However, as she prepared to suit up for the Gators, another setback occurred as she tore her ACL on the first day of practice.
 
"That was probably one of the lowest points of my life," Staples said. "All I could think about was that I'm finally here at my dream school and then literally the first day of practice I tear my ACL."
 
An ACL injury is never easy to recover from because of the length of the process. In most instances, the process can take over a year to fully heal. 
 
The ACL is the anterior cruciate ligament that connects the thighbone to the shinbone at the knee. Although technically you can still walk after tearing it, playing a sport that requires lateral movement and quick turns, like basketball, would require surgery. 
 
Staples had surgery on Oct. 25, 2017, which caused her to miss the 2017-2018 season.
 "Everybody's body reacts differently to rehab, and I feel like my rehab process was bad and slow. It took me about a month to get off crutches and walk without them," Staples said.
 
But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. 
 
The injury made her more mentally and physically tough and it gave her an extra year of eligibility. She says that after the injury, UF women's head basketball coach Cameron Newbauer recognized her hard work and dedication and awarded her a scholarship for her senior year. 
 
"Corey was a tireless worker," Newbauer said. "Even when she was sidelined with the injury, she was always a supportive teammate and did everything she could to make our team better. There was no doubt she was deserving of the scholarship, so when we found out we had the option, we looked right to Corey."
 
After graduating with a degree in telecommunications from Florida, Staples transferred to FAMU as a graduate student majoring in sports management with one year of eligibility left. 
 
Not only are her family roots strong at Florida, but they are also strong at FAMU. 
 
Staples' aunt, Elizabeth Swilley McElveen, was inducted into the FAMU Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 and is the reason Staples wore the number 5. 
 
During her only season at FAMU, Staples averaged 5.9 points and 2.5 rebounds. She poured in a season-best 15 points, including nine from 3-point land, at Norfolk State on Jan. 27. She had a season-high six assists at home against Howard on Feb. 8 and grabbed a season-best five boards at Alcorn State on Dec. 8.
 
Staples also has aspirations to become a sports reporter. She served as the sideline reporter for FAMU football broadcasts on ESPN3 during the 2019 season, working under former FAMU Director of Rattler Productions, Vaughn Wilson, as an intern.
 
"She was phenomenal, drawing praise in our broadcast reviews," Wilson said. "She worked hard at her craft and was also tabbed by HBCU Gameday to report on their national broadcast on Aspire TV. She is great to work with as she studied her craft and was knowledgeable enough to look and sound professional on national broadcasts." 
 
When asked if she would consider playing basketball overseas after graduation, she said it would be something to think about.
 
"The fact that I've torn my ACL before makes me second guess playing overseas," Staples said. "I really am an old lady and my body hurts, but I'm very strong in my faith so I'm just going to pray about it."
 
It's safe to say that the same injury that energized her work ethic, and eventually earned her a full scholarship at her dream school, is the same injury she's worried about impacting a potential basketball career beyond college. 
 
If Staples didn't go through the ACL injury, maybe she wouldn't be where she is today. Whether she decides to play basketball overseas or become a sideline reporter, she knows everything happens for a reason.