By, Karen Flores, Arts and Entertainment Editor
Manhattan College’s Daniel Schreier made his return to the court nearly four years after a series of surgeries kept him benched from Feb. 2019 until Dec. 2022.
Schreier, graduate student and forward player for MC’s basketball team, returned to the court on Dec. 30, 2022 in the team’s match-up against St. Peter’s.
Basketball has been a significant part of Schreier’s life, but during the fall of 2019 after experiencing some pain during practice drills, his basketball career took a sudden pause.
Schreier told The Quadrangle that the pain would not go away, and after getting some x-rays taken, his doctors revealed that his femur bones were too big for his hip sockets. This led to the tearing of both of Schreier’s hip labrums, which is tissue that holds the hip joint together. His doctors decided to perform a double hip arthroscopy.
Upon waking up from the first surgery, his mother told him they had not finished his surgery because, at a height of 6’9, he was too big to fit on the operating table. This turned one procedure into three separate surgeries.
“This was in January and February of 2020. When I woke up from the surgery, my mom was like they couldn’t they didn’t do the surgery but I had a huge bandage on my hip,” Schreier said. “Then she said they couldn’t fit [me] on the table. I had to go back the next week to get my right hip done. Then my left hip was revisited a month later,”
Due to COVID-19, physical therapy clinics were not accepting new patients. Schreier and his family took over his physical therapy sessions and continued to do so from March 2020 to Aug. 2020.
During the fall of the 2020 semester, Schreier tried to play again but continued to feel pain in his groin and went to see his doctor. He was told that despite the surgery being a success, his inability to get professional physical therapy prevented his muscles from performing the movements needed for him to play as best he could. Schreier worked on strengthening his hips and muscles until the spring of 2021.
Schreier’s previous surgeon had left the hospital so he had to find a new surgeon at a different hospital. His new surgeon ordered new x-rays to see his progress. His surgeon found that his femur bones were still too big for his hip sockets and he had to get revision surgeries. These last two surgeries kept him out for another year.
Schreier did his best to provide his teammates with support from the sidelines as he went through this recovery process despite feeling like he could have done more.
“When you grow up playing basketball every day, it becomes part of your identity,” Schreier said. “Throughout those injuries, I kind of lost some of that. I wanted to go out there and play and help them win. It’s hard to do that when all you can do is be positive energy on the sidelines.”
Matthew Glassman, a graduate student and point guard for the MC basketball team, remembers Schreier being present at the team games and practices despite not being able to play.
“He was at every game and practice he was able to be at,” Glassman said. “I know that once he got his surgery, it was hard for him to move but he was there when he could be. I know he was frustrated because he was not able to play and he knew that he could have been helping us out if he was healthy. The hardest part when you’re sitting out is knowing that you have the potential to help but you physically can’t.”
Schreier said that having his teammates and the athletic department supporting him during his recovery helped him feel like he was a part of the team despite not being able to play.
“I’d say my teammates helped me a lot,” Schreier said. “Having them around me made me feel like I wasn’t alone. I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I felt like that. For some, if they had missed a couple of years with pretty intense surgeries, they would have been forgotten about so I’m grateful for those who stuck by.”
Glassman and the rest of the team are excited to see Schreier back on the court after this long hiatus and look forward to future games with him.
“It was awesome,” Glassman said. “I know everyone was really excited for him. It was a long time and I think we all forgot how long it really was. About three years where he wasn’t playing or practicing. So when he finally got in the game. I remember the bench, getting really hyped and cheering him on. We’re excited to see him regain his full potential and are just really glad to have him back.”
RaShawn Stores, interim head coach of the MC basketball team, believes that Schreier is a model student and has had an immense impact on the team as a whole. He is glad to have Schreier as a part of the team.
“Daniel Schreier is the embodiment of never giving up,” Stores wrote. “He has dealt with setback after setback, and where most people would have given up, he never stopped believing he could come back and be an impactful Division I basketball player again. He is what overcoming adversity looks like. He is a model student, a great son and a friend. His impact on life goes beyond basketball. We are thankful to have him as part of our program and we know the best is yet to come for him on the basketball court and in life.”