bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668
CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina's Jessica Breland turned 22 on Tuesday. On Thursday she got a birthday present from her doctor -- she was given the green light to participate in contact practice drills.
Of course the doctors clearance just made it official.
"I was kind of somewhat doing it, but now I have permission to do it," Breland said with a grin.
Breland, the Tar Heels' second-leading scorer and top rebounder a year ago, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in May, and after six months of chemotherapy she was declared in remission in December. The forward has spent the past two months trying to regain her strength, even though she is not expected to return this season, and a couple of weeks ago began practicing with the Tar Heels.
She said she was allowed to perform in noncontact workouts before Thursday, like a fast break drill without any defense, and even now she will not take part in the more physical drills where fouls are not really called.
"Our trainer would give me a look and I would just stop," said Breland of her recent practices.
But no one would blame Breland if she were antsy to get back on the court. The senior said she cannot put into words how tough it's been watching from the sidelines this season.
"Basketball to me is kind of like my life," Breland said. "I've been doing it forever, and from doing it forever you really don't realize what it is because after a while you lose basis of how it feels. ... But when it's taken away from you it's like, 'Oh that was my life.' "
And it's been even tougher since the Tar Heels have struggled the past few weeks. UNC (17-9, 5-7 ACC) has lost six of its past seven and enters the final weekend of the regular season looking to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament with at win at No. 22 Georgia Tech tonight (6:30 p.m., Fox Sports) or against No. 6 Duke on Sunday.
"I hate to see my teammates struggling," Breland said. "I kind of feel really, really bad. ... And I think that hurts me the most, not being able to be there for my teammates."
Coach Sylvia Hatchell said it is not just Breland's points and rebounds the Tar Heels miss, but also her leadership and experience.
"Her being in practice makes a tremendous difference," Hatchell said. "Her leadership and all would probably make the difference in four, five losses right now."
Breland said she has been lifting four days a week, and she feels like her strength is back where it used to be. She has put weight back on her lean 6-3 frame after losing 25 pounds and weighing 140 at one point, but she still has one more hurdle to clear.
Breland's lungs were damaged a little bit as a side effect of chemo and she still is on medication for that. She said her breathing is nowhere near where she was a year ago, but everything has been progressing well.
"As [the doctor] was saying, I'm at human and I used to be superhuman," Breland said.
Teammate She'la White has played one-on-one with Breland on UNC's off days, and she is convinced Breland could return from cancer a better player. The sophomore guard said Breland has been missed this season but the Tar Heels are excited they will have her back once summer workouts start.
"We miss her a lot," White said. "She's an All-American out there. ... We can't wait for next year to see her out there with us."
