Morris Talbert has plenty of good reasons if he ever seems a little apprehensive on the court.
The North Little Rock senior has suffered three injuries in three years, and each one has seemed to come at the worst possible time.
"It's been something different every time," North Little Rock Coach Johnny Rice said. "It's not like he has one bad injury. One year it was his knee. The next year year it was the other knee. Then it was his wrist. It's just been bad luck. You can't say his injuries are chronic because it's not the same thing every time."
• As a freshman at Maumelle High School, Talbert dislocated his right knee while attempting a dunk during his team's first full day of practice. He missed the entire season.
• During the third game of his sophomore season while still at Maumelle, Talbert suffered a hairline fracture in his left knee. He missed the remainder of the season.
• As a junior at North Little Rock, Talbert collided with a Little Rock McClellan defender and suffered an injury to his right wrist during a game in mid-December. Talbert was out for the next eight weeks.
"I got the ball on a fastbreak," said Talbert, recalling last season's injury. "And I was thinking, 'This may be my chance for my first high school dunk.' I wanted to make sure it was precise, and I slowed down a bit. I didn't see the McClellan player coming, and he bumped me on my right side. I fell, and I tried to brace myself with my right arm."
Talbert knew immediately something was wrong.
"I felt my arm shift," he said.
Talbert had surgery two days later, and the doctors told him he was probably going to miss the rest of the season.
"In my head, I was thinking, 'I'm not even right-handed,' " Talbert said. " 'I'm coming back sooner than she thinks I am.' "
Talbert is attempting to make the most of his final high school season. Rice admits the 6-3 Talbert has not had a "breakout" game this season, but he has been productive on both ends of the court, averaging 9 points a game and playing solid defense.
"He can be explosive at times," Rice said. "He's one of our better rebounders. The plus for us is that he can guard multiple positions. He's got a little size, so he can guard a bigger kid inside, but he's also quick enough and long enough that he can guard out on the perimeter.
"I can't blame him if he were gun-shy at times because of all of his injuries, but he goes all out."
Tonight, Talbert and the Charging Wildcats begin 7A/6A-East Conference play with a home game against Cabot. For Talbert, it will be only his fourth league game that he's been healthy enough to participate in.
"I've never felt cheated because it was never anybody's fault," Talbert said. "It's all been in God's hands. I was never going to stop playing, but I was asking, 'Why is this happening to me?'
"But for the next 14 games, I plan to go all-out and help our team win. I want to leave it all out on the court and give it my full 100 percent. I don't want to regret anything."
Sports on 01/08/2016