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Sports

Solon's Payton on the Rise After Frightening Fall

Solon's DeAndre Payton suffered a horrific injury during a dunk attempt in January, but now he's back and better than ever

Those who saw it will never forget it. It is the ultimate irony that DeAndre Payton can’t remember it.

Payton, the senior center for the Solon basketball team, went up for a dunk against Cuyahoga Falls on Jan. 7. Unintentionally undercut by a Falls player, Payton tried to hold on to the rim but could not and crashed to the court head first.

The sickening scenario quieted the crowd as Comet head coach Sean Fisher and trainer Adam Lake rushed to Payton’s aid. Players, coaches and fans were hoping for the best while dreading the worst outcome.

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"I remember that I knew it was going to be bad because you could see him going down head-first,” Fisher said. “I was already moving toward him before he hit the floor. It was the worst thing I’ve seen in 13 years of coaching."

Payton was removed from the court and transported to Hillcrest Hospital. From there he was transferred to Metro General and was eventually released the following afternoon.

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The final diagnosis was a fractured temple, fractured eardrum and a concussion. Thankfully, there was no paralysis.

"Shortly after it happened, he started fighting us to get up and get back in the game," Fisher recalled. "That shows the kind of competitor he is. Our job was to keep him from moving."

It was initially believed that Payton would sit out the remainder of his senior season. The doctors were hopeful but could not gauge Payton’s inner resolve.

Some five weeks after the horrifying injury, Payton came back to play for the Comets. Fisher gave him limited playing time in his first outing, but it didn’t take long for Payton to get back in the flow. He scored 18 points against Brush and another 16 points in his team’s rematch with Cuyahoga Falls.

"At first I thought I would be out for the season," Payton said. "The doctors said I was very lucky and that I could have been paralyzed or dead. Then they couldn’t believe how fast I was healing.

"Right now I feel 100 percent. I don’t have any more headaches and my hearing came back. I always tried to stay positive and prayed I would be able to come back."

Fisher and all coaches are trained to deal with the possibility of such injuries but "you’re not trained to see a player’s head smash the floor." Solon has a program for concussion testing in conjunction with the Cleveland Clinic when athletes are tested prior to the season.

"At the time I thought it was pointless," Payton said.

The freak injury has not affected Payton’s play on the court.

"I’ve dunked on a few people," he said. "I actually think I go harder now. It’s my last year and I want to make the best of it."

The only redeeming part of the injury was that his parents weren’t at the game to witness it.

“I showed my mom the video if it and she freaked out,” he said.

Payton remembers nothing of the incident. “All I remember is the start of the game,” he said.

“We’re happy and excited to have him back,” said Fisher. “He gives us a big boost offensively. The biggest thing for us is just having him back on the team.”

With quick, strong and athletically gifted players going at it on the basketball court, it is a blessing that more incidents of this nature do not occur. When Payton crashed to the court that night, those in the stands and on the sidelines witnessed what could have been a tragedy.

The player they call Dre turned it into a triumph.

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