Doctors advised surgery. He played instead to get a college basketball scholarship

Grandview senior Jordan Lathon was playing basketball — what else — when he felt a twinge in his shooting wrist. He would later find out the injury required surgery, one that would sideline him for months.

That wasn’t the worst of it. The injury, which included torn ligaments in his wrist, occurred in April, in the middle of his college recruitment, before he had secured any of the high-major offers he coveted.

His next course of action?

Skip surgery. Play through it.

“I would’ve played with a broken leg if I had to,” Lathon said. “I had high major schools that wanted to see me. I just took some ibuprofen and went out there and played.”

And played quite well, apparently. Lathon, a 6-foot-4 point guard, picked up multiple Division I offers over the next two weeks.

He settled on one from Northwestern, a decision he made final Wednesday, when he signed a letter of intent to extend his basketball career into college.

After securing the offers, Lathon eventually did elect for the surgery. It kept him out of action for the summer’s entirety.

“I’m really confident that everything happens for a reason,” Lathon said. “I ended up developing a great relationship with (Northwestern) coach (Chris) Collins when I was hurt. I know that’s the right place to me. Who’s to say if I’d even be committed if I hadn’t gotten hurt?”

As a junior last season, Lathon scored 16.5 points per game and was named the Suburban Blue Conference player of the year. He also averaged 6.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.

After initially transferring to the IMG Academy in Bradenton Fla., Lathon returned to the Kansas City area last month because of family issues, he said. He will play his senior season with Grandview.

This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Doctors advised surgery. He played instead to get a college basketball scholarship."