By JARROD POTTER
SIDELINED for most of his final year of NCAA college eligibility, Endeavour Hills’ basketball prodigy Anthony Drmic was relieved to earn one last season at Boise State University.
After an arduous wait, Drmic was granted a medical hardship waiver to play a fifth and final year of college basketball after losing most of 2014 to a season-ending ankle injury.
Drmic thought his application would be granted, but still sweated on the wait to find out his college fate.
“We were pretty confident I was going to be granted the fifth year as I ticked all the boxes to get it, but when we finally got confirmation a few days before the announcement it was a relief to know 100 per cent I was coming back,” Drmic said.
Bowing out of the Mountain West Conference season in June last year, after his ankle finally gave way and required surgery, the 23-year-old Boise State senior didn’t know if his 12-point effort against St Mary’s would be the end to his four-year college journey.
Traditionally a college athlete is only allowed to play four seasons in the NCAA system and Drmic had exhausted those years with the Broncos – which included a NCAA Tournament appearance in 2013 under Leon Rice.
Missing out on what should have been his last season at Boise State was frustrating to say the least for the 198cm guard/forward as his destiny remained up in the air.
“I was obviously very disappointed that I could not continue playing as I thought it was going to be my last season and I really wanted to go out with a bang and end my career successfully,” Drmic said.
“The thought of not ending it the right way would have been a bit sad.”
Thankfully Drmic’s exemption has given him the chance to farewell Boise State properly and he hopes to repay the Broncos faithful with a massive year on court – hopefully pushing the blue-and-orange brigade to a few wins at the famous March Madness tournament.
“Next year will be huge in terms of what my team can accomplish and what I could possibly set myself up for,” Drmic said.
“I really want to win another Mountain West title and get over the hump and win some games in March during the tournament.
“On a personal level I just hope I can come back and be as good as I know I can be, whatever comes with that is just icing on the cake.”
Having a full tilt at a college season has been a rarity for Drmic and he can see the positives coming out of his injury-decimated 2014, as he’s given a fresh start for one last campaign.
“It really is going to be amazing not being injured and heading into a season just ready to go,” Drmic said.
“I think this year might of been a blessing… I really was much more injured than many people even know.
“I actually also fractured my transverse process in my back, which led to some muscle and nerve injuries.
“Playing at 60 per cent just wasn’t fun anymore so the thought of being back to 100 per cent is just exciting.”
He enters the season as Boise State’s current highest scorer and seventh overall in the history of the college with 1,528 points.
Drmic’s Broncos will start their NCAA D1 campaign in November.
