BYU basketball: Chris Collinsworth's return to hoops after LDS mission service derailed

PROVO — Chris Collinsworth stood on the Marriott Center court half an hour after BYU defeated TCU Tuesday. He leaned on crutches. He was in pain. It was the first time he had left his house since undergoing knee surgery five days prior, and frankly, he thought he'd overdone it just to support his teammates in person.

The 6-foot-9 sophomore forward started four games for the No. 9-ranked Cougars. Now he'll watch them from the bench the rest of the season. His story prematurely ends a remarkable attempt to play college basketball again after taking two years off for an LDS mission to Australia.

Collinsworth found out that if you sacrifice your basketball game for two years, it takes far more than hard work to get back. It takes some luck. Most returning missionaries who play Division I basketball suffer stress fractures, lower-back spasms, ankle sprains. Their first season back in uniform is filled with a lot of pain, discomfort and missed games.

Collinsworth is no exception.

Three years ago, Collinsworth played for the Cougars after a sterling career at Provo High School. On Oct. 14, 2008, just four months into his mission in Australia, a gang of thugs jumped him and his companion, David Ferguson. The two Mormon elders were beaten and Collinsworth was stabbed in the back, the knife narrowly missing his kidney.

Nine months ago, Collinsworth returned to his Springville home from Australia. The next day he played basketball and sprained his left ankle. He had three months to get ready to compete for a spot on a team that just made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Not good.

"It was tough because I only had three months to prepare. Two years is a long time to take off, and I worked really, really hard to get back in shape," said Collinsworth.

"Yes, I pretty well killed myself. I pretty much did the same things I did before my mission but did it with a post-mission body. It was really hard. I spent a lot of time conditioning, lifting weights and in the gym.

"With this team and these guys, I expected myself to be at their level. I didn't care if I'd been gone two years, I killed myself working out."

Collinsworth was 99 percent there. A minor miracle.