This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The few hundred fans who came to EnergySolutions Arena on Friday evening to get an inside look at a Utah Jazz practice seemed to enjoy coach Quin Snyder direct his players through drills and various game situations. But there was a 20-year-old in the front row who hasn't found the spectator experience enjoyable.
"I'm not going to lie," Jazz point guard Danté Exum said, "it's horrible."
The last time Exum played in a game was Aug. 4, in an arena in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It was an exhibition game, preparation for Olympic qualifying later in the summer, and the fifth overall pick in the 2014 draft was wearing the yellow and green of the Australian national team. Exum drove into the paint, stopped quickly as a defender closed him down and pushed off into the air.
A moment later, he lay on the floor clutching his left knee.
"It felt like when I landed my foot kind of slipped under me a little bit," he said. "And then I went to jump and push and that's when I felt the pop."
Almost immediately, Exum knew he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament.
"Everything runs through your mind. You think about the Jazz. What everyone's going to think?" he said.
Exum's rookie campaign with the Jazz did not produce huge numbers. The point guard averaged a modest 4.8 points and 2.4 assists in 22 minutes per game. But Exum's size, speed and defensive contributions helped him win the starting job by season's end.
By July, Exum looked like a more complete and confident player. He scored 20 points, and had five assists and five rebounds in the first game of summer league before rolling his ankle near the end of the contest. He didn't play again in summer league, but that flash helped build buzz about what Exum might be able to do in the coming season.
It took one play in August to crush those hopes.
"It was tough," center Rudy Gobert said. "He worked hard this offseason and he was ready for a big year."
Instead he faces a year of watching from the sideline as he tries to work himself back from injury.
"It's tough," Exum said. "But I keep trying to remind myself and think of it as a positive and trying to learn. The one thing everyone keeps saying is you're still young and all that. That's what I kind of try to come back to and look at it as a way to learn from a coach's perspective."
His teammates, like fellow Aussie Joe Ingles, have helped ease the pain.
"He's the Danté of old — just minus a few things in his knee," Ingles said this week. "He knows what's ahead of him. He's working hard and everyone here will keep supporting him."
Exum said Friday he is pain free and able to walk without help, which he credits in large part to a stringent pre-hab regimen. Exum's torn ACL was diagnosed almost immediately, but his surgery wouldn't come for more than a month, as he went through a rigorous physical therapy, getting the swelling in his knee to subside while strengthening his quadricep and maintaing flexibility.
"As much as I hated it," Exum said. "… it's helped me I think to be able walk sooner, get off the crutches and out of the brace just because of that."
The surgery was Sept. 3 in Los Angeles. Afterward, Exum said it was a "no brainer" to return to Salt Lake for his rehab, rather than stay in California or return home to Australia. Already, he said he's made progress.
"I'm not running just as yet," Exum said. "I think that around two months I'll start running. I'm doing a lot of squats, a lot of single-leg balancing. Still trying to strengthen the quad and get used to my new ACL."
Jazz officials have researched the progress of other young guards who have torn an ACL and returned to have healthy careers, and the track record is a good one. Exum believes he'll be among them.
"You never know obviously," he said. "But the surgeon was confident in what he did with my knee that I'll get a full recovery."
The young guard, meanwhile, said he had no regrets about playing for his country during summer.
"I'm proud to represent my country," Exum said. "You're playing basketball. If it happened there, it can happen here and it can happen to anyone. It's not just because I'm playing national team that it happened. That's what I think people need to understand."
Exum almost certainly out for the entire NBA season, though he said he has not given a full timeline.
"At this point, I'm not too sure," he said. "It's just a matter of taking it day by day, week by week and month by month."
Will he be ready by August, when the Olympics begin in Rio de Janeiro?
"We'll cross that road when it comes," he said.
Right now, though, Exum feels he's headed in the right direction.
"It's been a long two months," he said. "But I'm on a good path now."
Twitter: @tribjazz —
ACL success stories
• Clippers guard Jamal Crawford tore his ACL in July 2001 and returned to play in March 2002.
• Raptors guard Kyle Lowry suffered a torn ACL in college and went on to become an All-Star.
• Former Jazzman Al Jefferson tore his right ACL in February 2009. He returned in October for the start of the next season.
• Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio tore his ACL in March 2012. He returned to play in December of the same year.