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Wednesday, December 27, 2000
Recker When Luke Recker expresses gratitude today, it means a whole lot more than it did before the night of July 10, 1999.
picks up where
he left off
Hawkeye shooting guard
survived near-fatal car wreck
to become the team's
leading scorerRAINBOW CLASSIC NOTEBOOK
By Dave Reardon
Star-BulletinThat's when a drunk driver changed his life -- and nearly ended it -- on a road near Durango, Colo.
"I realize how fortunate I am and I try to make the most of every day," Recker said.
The accident killed one person; 14 others were injured.
Recker's girlfriend since high school, Kelly Craig, was paralyzed and her future remains uncertain.
TODAY
Saint Louis vs. Texas A&M, 5 p.m.
TOMORROW
As for Recker, if help had not arrived quickly, he could have bled to death from deep cuts to his head. He almost lost his left ear, and he required 200 stitches.
Less than 18 months after he lay bleeding on that remote road, Recker is the leading scorer for Iowa. The left wrist that was mangled that night once again helps him pour shots through baskets with perfect rotation.
The Hawkeyes open play in the Rainbow Classic tomorrow against Detroit Mercy. The 6-foot-6 junior averages 21 points a game for No. 23 Iowa (9-1).
"He understands the shooting guard position very well," Iowa coach Steve Alford said. "His defense is improving, his ballhandling is improving. The other parts of his game are very good."
Recker prefers not to speak about specifics of the accident and its aftermath, but he knows how far he has come back.
"I feel very grateful to be playing college basketball, let alone for a great program and a great coach like Coach Alford and the University of Iowa," Recker said yesterday at the Stan Sheriff Center, where he began his college career three years ago when Hawaii beat Indiana, 82-65.
Alford and Recker share special bonds. Both were named high school Mr. Basketball in Indiana, and both played for Bobby Knight.
"We've known each other for awhile," Alford said. "When he opted to transfer from Indiana it was natural that he call us and we started talking about things. We're awful glad he's here."
First he transferred to Arizona but never played there. Recker wanted to be closer to his father in Iowa.
Before he was to become a Hawkeye, however, Recker would become a survivor.
"It's unfortunate how he got here. But we're fortunate that he's here," Alford said. "He had to wait a year and work on some things, but he's played nine games and done some very positive things for us.
"We hope he can just keep getting better."
That reference is to Recker's game. His life -- one in which every day of drawing breath since July 10, 1999 is a bonus -- appears to be in order.
Recker's face is as boyish as it was the first time he came to the Stan Sheriff Center three years ago. But now it bears a scar, a constant reminder -- for himself, his teammates and the rest of the warriors in the Big 10 -- of where he's been.
"I understand how lucky I am," Recker said.
Mr. Basketball always knew it. It just means so much more when he says it now.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
