When 18-year-old Taylor Statham took a knee to the groin during a prep school basketball game last October, it felt like any other shot to the stones: It hurt. Statham rolled around on the court floor in pain when the incident occurred and the swelling in his groin lingered for a few weeks. Thank goodness for that.
When we feature nut-shot stories here on LBS, the context is usually light-hearted and joking like the Novak Djokovic prank, Chandler Parsons taking one from a teammate, or Brett Favre experiencing an incident during practice. This particular knee to the groin, however, is hardly a laughing matter. In fact, it saved Statham’s life.
As The Dagger shared with us on Wednesday, Statham decided to visit his doctor after he took a blow to the groin from teammate Dushon Carter during practice last year. The 6-foot-6 center was attempting to incorporate taking charges into his game to make himself more appealing to Division I programs. Upon visiting the doctor, it was revealed that Statham had an aggressive form of malignant testicular cancer. Had he been examined a few months later, the doctor told Taylor it may have been too late to beat the cancer.
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