Katenda's Basketball Career May Be Over

[Ironman8]

Heartbreaking for the kid and his family.

Thursday afternoon that in early July, Katenda was poked in the left eye during a pickup basketball game in a Washington D.C. park and was hospitalized for a few days. Doctors said Katenda should expect to be permanently blind in that eye.

The Irish coaching staff has remained in contact with Katenda and made it clear that he’s still welcome and will receive a scholarship of some kind to cover the cost of his education at Notre Dame if he’s unable to play.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen,” Katenda told Blueandgold.com. “They’ve been really great and they just didn’t forget about me. I can still go there and get my education. I thank God for the coaching staff at ND. They’ve been great.”

Notre Dame 2011 commit Eric Katenda blinded in one eye

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

Wow, what a tough break. That has got to be a difficult reality to deal with. I wouldn't expect ND to do anything less than honor this kids scholly.

 

[Domina Nostra]

Wow, what a tough break. That has got to be a difficult reality to deal with. I wouldn't expect ND to do anything less than honor this kids scholly.

Just heartbreaking. My prayers go out to him.

But the wisdom of his choice has become apparent.

 

[NDPhilly]

I feal really bad for the kid. First I think 2 years ago he had some really bad illness and lost 30 lbs which made him lose his scholarship offers from Kansas and Texas among others and now this. My prayers go out to the kid.

 

[IrishLax]

Wow. Poor guy. ****. I feel so bad for him. I could give a crap about the effect on ND basketball... just absolutely sucks for Eric.

Something similar to this (not this bad) happened with John Shyer when he was working out for the Miami Heat... more guys need to start wearing goggles even if they're unfashionable.

EDIT: And this shows the difference between Notre Dame and a place like Purdue or Alabama.

 

[ACamp1900]

props to the staff and school for standing with him and not pulling his scholly... many schools would have.

 

[Irish2015]

what a horrible story feel extremely bad for the kid.

 

[military_irish]

That really sucks for him. I feel bad for the kid. At least he'll be able to get a great ND education.

 

[Veer option]

Terrible.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

Words can't describe what he must be going through... best of luck Eric.

 

[ErieIrish13]

There's always that small chance he will have sight in that eye again, but best of luck either way for the kid

 

[GreatGolson]

This is why kids come to Notre Dame, especially in the non revenue sports (IE. Vollyball, soccer, lacrosse, ect) because they know that even if theyre playing carrer ends early, they can still have a world class education for little to no cost

 

[NDinL.A.]

Sad for the kid. Heartbreaking story. But big ups to the ND staff for doing right by him...

 

[ohara831]

My prayers go out to that young man. I am very proud of ND for making sure the young man can still get his education. As said above, I think it shows how wise he was to select ND for his education. They wont just forget you when tragedy strikes.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Heart-broken for Eric. Proud of my school.

 

[IrishandColts]

Sucks he will never get the chance to play here

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

How terrible. I feel awful for the kid. I'm glad that ND is going to do the right thing and I wish Katenda nothing but the best.

 

[NeuteredDoomer]

Last sentence in the article says he is "surprisingly upbeat." That is fantastic. So glad to read about the continued support from the staff.

I don't think it would necessarily mark the end of his career.

 

[Ironman8]

tnoie Thomas R. Noie
by hansensouthbend

Eric Katenda on his future - "I'm going to play again." Even blind in left eye? "I'm going to play again." Gotta admire the kid.

What a young man.

 

[The Polish Irishman]

Dam...I feel terrible for him, but at least he has a great attitude.

 

[crzychris]

Wow this is awful. Gotta be glad he's at a class organization like Notre Dame, where losing his scholarship was never considered.

 

[irishfan]

Hope he can get to school and back on the court. Brey has already talked with him about enrolling in next January so he can get acclimated with the team.

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

Feel for this poor kid, but I love his attitude and I love the class displayed by the university by honoring the scholarship.