Acupuncture is becoming more and popular with professional athletes. Oriental medicine maximizes your potential, and all the training in the world is going to still have limitations if you have an internal disharmony, imbalance, or simply an unresolved injury.
Among a Colorado basketball roster of lanky, wiry-built players, 6-foot-5, 220-pound Jeremy Adams and his muscles stand out.
“He’s the strongest guy on the team, by far,” sophomore Spencer Dinwiddie said. “It’s ridiculous what Jeremy can do in the weight room. He looks like a football player. We’ve given him the nickname ‘Jerry football.’ He’s a big help for our team.”
Adams, a fourth-year junior, provides strength, experience, savvy and versatility as a reserve guard. Trouble was, problems with patella tendons in both knees limited Adams’ playing time during much of the season. During one 12-game stretch after the holidays, Adams was able to log more than 10 minutes only three times.
Thanks to acupuncture, Adams is back in the game and looking forward to helping CU in the NCAA Tournament on Friday against Illinois in Austin, Texas. He began the procedure on his knees a month ago and the treatments have worked wonders. A diabetic, Adams has averaged 19 minutes over the past seven games, including a season-high 27 minutes at Stanford when the Mississippi native supplied eight points and four rebounds in an important road victory.
CU basketball trainer Trae Tashiro recommended acupuncture to Adams after other treatments failed to relieve the pain.
“At first, I didn’t want to do it,” Adams said. “But then I thought I’d give it a try. The day after I had the acupuncture done, I dunked (in practice) for the first time in a couple of months. My knees feel a lot better and I’m able to do more things out there.”
Colorado coach Tad Boyle has, in effect, a new player to help supply depth, instant energy and even some scoring punch. Adams has contributed seven or more points in four of the past seven games. And he enjoys using his size and bulk on defense.
“Jeremy is playing aggressive, he’s playing confident,” Boyle said. “He’s not afraid of making mistakes. He’s kind of letting the game come to him. … Jeremy is an extra perimeter defender for us. He’s a big, strong body. He’s got good size for his position. And he’s making some shots.”
A team’s depth, or lack of it, often becomes magnified during the postseason.
“If you can get production from your bench, it’s such a boost in the arm for you,” Boyle said. “Our bench is going to be critical.”
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