COLLEGE STATION – With top-ranked Kentucky in Reed Arena at high noon Saturday, Texas A&M forward Kourtney Roberson is angling for a better outing than his last home game.
It couldn’t have gone much worse for the hardy senior who’s experienced an irregular heartbeat over much of his young life. Roberson sat out the second half against Hartford a week ago when he became dizzy late in the first half.
“I got into the locker room at halftime, and it was also hard for me to catch my breath,” Roberson said. “Everybody was telling me to slow down and take a deep breath. I told them, ‘I’m trying.’ ”
A&M coach Billy Kennedy sat Roberson for the final 20 minutes in the Aggies’ victory, but he returned to action Wednesday in the Aggies’ Southeastern Conference opener. He contributed six rebounds and six points over 25 minutes in a 65-44 loss at Alabama.
Toughest matchup yet
The Aggies (9-4, 0-1 SEC) likely will need a better showing from the beefy Roberson (6-9, 250 pounds) if they’re to stand a chance against the even larger Wildcats (14-0, 1-0). And that goes for the rest of his teammates down low, as well.
“Our post guys struggled in the paint, we gave up too many layups,” Kennedy said of A&M’s 21-point setback at Alabama. “We struggled scoring, but you just have to fight through that and get back on defense.”
Roberson, an Arcadia (La.) High product, knows all about fighting – considering his battles to try to fight through problems with the irregular heartbeat.
He said twice in high school and once in college, he underwent a procedure whereby doctors “go in and burn the nerves around my heart.”
“The first time I couldn’t catch my breath, so they rushed me to the hospital, and I ended up having surgery,” he said. “They just send a little camera through my shoulder or groin, and burn off those nerves.”
As Kennedy pointed out Friday, the resilient Roberson has had some success against the Wildcats. Two years ago almost to this day, Roberson made five of his nine shots, scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in the Aggies’ stunning 83-71 victory in Kentucky’s Rupp Arena.
That marked John Calipari‘s first home loss as Kentucky coach, and Calipari said this week he’s wary of the Aggies, despite their blowout loss at Alabama.
In addition, Mississippi shoved Kentucky to overtime Wednesday night in Rupp Arena, before the Wildcats prevailed 89-86 in their toughest test to date.
“They’ve got players at every position who can score,” Calipari said of the Aggies. “And they’re going to come into the game with one thought: Let’s slow these guys down.”
Exercising caution
Kennedy is glad Roberson is back in action after the coach forced his veteran leader to the bench a week ago – something Kennedy said he’ll do again in a heartbeat if necessary.
“We have heart monitors on all of our guys during practice, and they’re monitored on a daily basis,” Kennedy said of the program taking precautions with all of its players, not just Roberson. “He hyperventilates sometimes when he really gets going, and we let him settle back down and make sure everything is in rhythm.
“I’m going to lean on not playing him in that type of situation. He wanted to try and play against Hartford, but we didn’t need to play him.
“You never want to put a guy in a bad position or a questionable position, especially as a coach.”
So has Roberson, 24, considered not finishing out his college career based on the matters of his heart?
Not a chance.
“Basketball is my passion,” Roberson said. “Sometimes I just try to go too hard. That’s when I need to slow down a little bit, catch my breath, and then keep on going.”
After brief health scare, Roberson back in action for A&M men
