Jada Thorpe used to measure progress like most student-athletes destined for K-State.
As a freshman, she helped North Lawndale High School in Chicago to a state runner-up finish. Next year, playing at Monteverde Academy in Florida, Thorpe averaged 16 points, five assists and two rebounds as the Eagles won a state title.
When she arrived in Manhattan, the milestones began to change.
First, Thorpe could walk using a scooter, using her foot to push forward as she motored around the Ice Family Basketball Center. Then, she graduated to crutches. Finally, a walking boot.
Tearing your Achilles in the first conditioning session of your college career will do that.
"Getting hurt and just watching the games, I was jealous," Thorpe said. "But it was also a learning experience. I got to sit down and see the pace of the game before I actually go out there."
As a guard, learning to see the whole floor and adjust to the pace of college basketball can be one of the most important parts of life in the Big 12. Even so, Thorpe just wanted to play.
On a K-State team welcoming two McDonald's All-American nominees (Taylor Lauterbach and Jada Moore), a JUCO standout (Makayla Pippin) and a former Big 12 starter (Sydney Goodson), Thorpe won't technically be among the newcomers.
But her experience last season could make her a valuable addition on the court, after spending a year out of the spotlight as a member of the Wildcats.
"I learned so much more about my teammates," she said. "I know when they come out of a game, who are the ones that need to be encouraged and who are the ones that you just need to not talk to for a little while and just let them get back in the game."
Thorpe is well aware of the challenges that lie ahead after such a long time away from the court.
As a student, she said that learning to balance basketball and schoolwork will be a new experience, after she was able to focus on her classes in 2019-20 instead of the next team on the schedule.
"I didn't get the full experience of what it will be like coming from like a three-hour practice and then doing homework because I didn't really get to experience practice. I was on the sidelines watching," she said. "And I didn't get to experience doing homework before an away game because I didn't travel. Injured players were just able to focus on school."
But, no matter what this year throws at the redshirt freshman – and 2020 has been doing its best – Thorpe can look back on the lessons she learned from the hardest rehab of her career.
Thorpe tore the Achilles on her non-dominant foot, which she said forced to her to strengthen both of her legs while she prepared to try and walk again for the first time in months.
And just to make things interesting, Thorpe was already rehabbing from back surgery to correct scoliosis when she got to college, after dealing with back problems throughout high school.
"As soon as I finally felt confident without having to think about my back, that's when I got hurt again," she said.
The 2020-21 season could be the healthiest Thorpe has been since her state-title winning days in high school.
"Rehab was so hard," she said. "Becca [Fitzgerald], who is our athletic trainer, she was one of the main people who helped me. I went to rehab with her every day. I did so much BFR, which means blood flow restriction, while I was working out at the same time."
BFR training, in which she trained with narrow elastic bands around her injured foot, allowed Thorpe to gradually build up her workouts as she went through the rehab process.
She progressed to running on an anti-gravity treadmill, which allowed Fitzgerald to add on more and more weight as Thorpe's injured foot got stronger.
"AJ [Kloss], who is our strength coach, he's awesome and he got both of my legs basically to the same strength. My right leg used to be a lot stronger than my left," Thorpe said. "He got my upper body strength where it needed to be, because I went months without lifting while I was focused on my foot."
Thorpe said that assistant coach Chris Carr also had a huge impact throughout her rehab process, after battling back from an Achilles injury during his own basketball career.
All told, Thorpe missed 29 games during her freshman season, watching games and practice in street clothes. When she makes her first appearance at Bramlage Coliseum, it will have been more than 18 months since Thorpe took the court in her last high school game back in Chicago.
But, returning to basketball next season has been about so much more than just sitting around and waiting for her body to heal.
"The process was one of the hardest things I've ever done," Thorpe said. "Now, I definitely feel more confident. My head is held high because my body is just stronger and healthier."
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