http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/1077388 Painful misstep Ankle sprain interrupts Langhi's progress at small forward By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle AUSTIN -- Dan Langhi collapsed to the floor, face down, motionless. He knew what had happened, but he had no idea what to do about it. Langhi challenged a Walt Williams' jumper, but never saw it swish behind him. Instead, Langhi landed on Williams' foot and sprained his right ankle, sending him to the court in pain. Eventually, Langhi, 6-11, was taken off the court Friday and told his right ankle sprain likely would keep him out for the rest of Rockets training camp. As he spent the rest of the workout with his foot elevated and his ankle on ice, Langhi watched the practice, but let his mind wander. He thought of all the years he had played basketball without ever spraining anything. He thought about how much time he would miss, a point driven home when he had to be instructed on how to walk properly as the team made its way to the bus. Mostly, he thought about how much more comfortable he felt in his second training camp before it came to a sudden, painful halt. The Rockets had been running plays for the small forwards. And Langhi had been doing more on those plays, especially Friday before he landed wrong and found himself barefoot on a training table. "I don't think it's that bad a sprain," Langhi, the Rockets second-round pick in 2000 said slowly. "I landed on Walt, and I knew right away. It hurts. I never did this before. But it does hurt. "I was playing good, too. That's the thing. I was playing good." The changes in the way the Rockets have worked their small forwards have been subtle. Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said the plays the team had worked on the past few days had been in their repertoire. But Langhi said he could not help but notice how many small forward plays had been called and how well they seemed to click. "I liked that," he said. "It's different from last year." But the real difference has been in Langhi. A season of NBA practices and a second summer playing in pro leagues has made him a more confident, more versatile scorer. He has shot from the outside without hesitation and put the ball on the court with confidence. "I feel good," Langhi said. "I have a year under my belt. I'm more confident, more natural in the way I play." Langhi feels so much more comfortable, he said he did not spend much time considering the sudden depth at a position at which he could rarely find playing time last season. The Southeastern Conference co-Player of the Year the previous season at Vanderbilt, Langhi played in just 33 games last season, averaging 2.7 points. Since then, the Rockets picked up three-time All-Star small forward Glen Rice and drafted Terence Morris, to go along with Williams at small forward. "It's just added competition," Langhi said. "We're going to play people at different positions this year. We have a bunch of guys that are interchangeable. I'm not worried about it." Instead, he said he would do whatever it takes to improve and hopes to see more playing time this season. So far, he said that was working. "I'm just knocking down shots and playing better defense," Langhi said. "I'm doing a good job creating shots, stuff like that. I'm getting back to playing more instinctively. Now I know what I'm supposed to do. It's natural. I don't have to think about what I'm supposed to do, where I'm supposed to be. Now I just play." He was just playing. Then he went up to block a shot, landed wrong and left the St. Stephen's gym trying not to do more damage with a limp. "They said I was day-to-day," Langhi said. "I don't know. Right now, I don't feel too good, I tell you that."
Ouch! My right ankle has been sprained about a half a dozen times fairly seriously. I still wince when I see someone turn one or even read about it.
Glad it's not a real big injury, but still a setback. At this point, Langhi needs 2 main things: experience and confidence. The more he plays well, the more he gets them... so now he will have to wait a week or 2 to continue building on them.
It's good to see that Langhi feels more comfortable. I know it's dominated by rookies and second-years, but I feel pretty good about the depth in our bench, especially if we get Jackson. If the players continue to develop strong on-court chemistry as they have in the past, I have very good feelings about our chances of making the playoffs this year.
