CJ Bryce has missed 4 games with a concussion. Here’s how NC State’s protocol works.
Kevin Keatts went five seasons as a Division I college basketball coach without having to learn too much about the protocol for concussion treatment.
The Wolfpack (11-5, 2-3 ACC) coach has gotten a thorough education in the past five weeks with two of his players involved in the protocol.
Senior guard C.J. Bryce has missed the past four games with a concussion and will be a game-time decision on Wednesday against Miami (10-5, 2-3), Keatts said on Tuesday.
Sophomore forward Jericole Hellems suffered a concussion in N.C. State’s win at Wake Forest on Dec. 7 but didn’t miss any game time.
“Every concussion is a little different,” Keatts said.
In three seasons at UNC-Wilmington and the first two at N.C. State, Keatts said he was lucky enough to not have any players have concussion issues. But this season has been different.
Hellems crashed to the floor at the end of the Wake Forest game and had another player land on top of him. He was taken to the hospital as a precaution. Hellems was cleared before N.C. State’s trip to UNC-Greensboro on Dec. 15 and was able to come off the bench and play 19 minutes.
Bryce took a direct shot to the head from teammate Manny Bates in a pre-game practice on Dec. 29. Bates dunked during a drill and on his follow-through caught Bryce’s head and face flush with one of his hands.
Bryce, who leads the Wolfpack in scoring and rebounding, wasn’t even able to be in the arena, because of the lights and noise, for the win over Appalachian State or the subsequent 81-70 loss at Clemson on Jan. 4.
Bryce was able to attend the 73-68 win over Notre Dame on Jan. 8 but did not return to practice until Jan. 10 in Blacksburg, Va. ahead of N.C. State’s game against the Hokies this past Saturday.
Bryce was having headache issues after his return to practice. He was able to warm-up before the game on Saturday but Keatts said he was not symptom-free.
“We’re going to be patient with him and we’re going to make sure that he’s healthy and that he feels great before we put him back on the floor,” Keatts said.
NC State’s concussion protocol
Bryce’s ability to warm-up, but not play, caused some confusion at Virginia Tech on Saturday. Keatts said he was following the concussion protocol.
Fred Demarest, a senior associate athletic director for N.C. State, provided the general steps to the school’s all-sports concussion protocol. According to the information provided by the school:
▪ Every athlete is given a baseline concussion test when he or she arrives on campus. After a potential head injury, the same test is administered and the numbers are compared.
▪ After a player is diagnosed with a concussion, a period of “no activity” begins.
▪ The first step in overall recovery is a “light aerobic workout” which would be an activity to “moderately increase the heart rate.”
▪ The next step is “sport-specific exercise” which includes training drills like ball work or running to add movement.
▪ Next would be moving on to non-contact training drills, more complex training, exercise and cognitive load. If cleared through this stage, a player can resume full-contact practice and participate in normal training with the objective of restoring confidence, giving the staff the ability to assess functional skills. After clearance through this stage, a player may return to play.
On Tuesday, Keatts met with the media and said Bryce had not been cleared yet. The team was off on Sunday but Bryce was working through the steps on Monday and Tuesday.
N.C. State has missed Bryce, who is also the vocal and emotional leader of the team. It has gone 1-2 in ACC games without him in the lineup.
But Keatts said Bryce has to clear all of the steps in the protocol and be “100 percent” before he is able to get back in the lineup.
“It’s a serious issue and we take it serious from our basketball program and our administration,” Keatts said.
Miami at NC State
When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh
Watch: Fox Sports Carolinas
Miami (10-5, 2-3 ACC)
G Chris Lykes 15.3 ppg, 2.9 apg
G Dejan Vasiljevic 14.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg
G Kameron McGusty 15.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg
F Sam Waardenburg 6.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg
F Rodney Miller 5.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg
NC State (11-5, 2-3 ACC)
G Markell Johnson 13.3 ppg, 7.0 apg
G Braxton Beverly 8.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg
G Devon Daniels 10.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg
F Jericole Hellems 10.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg
F Manny Bates 6.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg
