by Luke Schwartz | Staff Writer
During the beginning of the 2018 basketball season, Garrett Hull suffered an ACL tear that ended his senior year campaign.
“It was Nov. 28, more than a year ago and I was playing defense. A guy pivoted and went one way, I went with him and my knee gave out. I knew right away I tore my ACL. I was done for what was my senior year at the time and I was really bummed,” Hull said.
Hull was coming off of an impressive Junior showing, leading the team in steals with 63, averaging 10.1 points per game, and earning a spot as an all-NWC honorable mention. Coming off of the Bucs’ last-second conference championship win against the top-ranked Whitman Blues. He was poised, along with the rest of the Pirates, to defend their championship.
This setback presented a huge challenge for Hull, but he was no stranger to battling through adversity.
Hull began his hoops career at Spokane Community College where he played for two years and was a huge piece for SCC. In 2017 he earned all-NAC second-team honors averaging 13.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.3 steals. After his two years of play, he transferred to Whitworth to play for Matt Logie and the Bucs.
“I transferred to Whitworth because of the representation their program had. I really liked what they have here and Coach [Matt] Logie is a really good guy and he had all the right words for me to come here so I came here,” said Hull.
After the injury Hull applied and was granted a medical hardship waiver by the NWC to play in 2019 as a fifth-year senior. Hull underwent surgery in January with much support from family and friends. Hull began physical therapy for the next 11 months to help regain his explosivity.
“I’ve played sports my entire life. I’m going into occupational therapy and I’m all about rehab,” Hull said. “I feel I could apply that to my career, and I can grow from this injury and come back stronger than ever.”
After 374 days off of the court, Hull finally made his long-awaited return during the annual Whitworth exhibition against former players.
“As an athlete, you want to be putting on that jersey with your teammates. Going out and sharing that time together was incredible,” Hull said.
Hull has eased his way back into a starting role and is averaging 9.4 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. He is once again leading the team on the defensive end with 1.3 steals per game. Coming off the injury, Hull is averaging 27.0 minutes per game, second only to senior Ben College. His persistence and tactical rehabilitation paid off as Hull has returned to a key role as a primary ball-handler and distributor in Coach Jablonski’s high-paced offense.
“I’ve been hoping we’d have someone step up in a secondary scoring role, and Garret really did that tonight. It was awesome to see him with that confidence offensively that we know he is capable off and it was awesome to see him do that tonight,” said coach Damon Jablonski after Hull’s season-high 26 points in a win against Puget Sound.
“He’s back. He’s back in full form. The points were kind of a little extra, he does so many other things that are so important for us. Not surprised to see him get 26, I’ve seen him do it before. All the intangibles he brings to the table is really what we love about him,” said College after Hull’s 26-point night.
Hull and the Bucs will head to Whitman to face off for the second time on Tuesday, Feb. 18.