Adrovic and her family pose with Nurkic. photo courtesy of Adna Adrovic
Adna Adrovic recently received the Comeback Player of the Year Award from the Denver Nuggets.
Sophomore Adna Adrovic is known for being a distinguished basketball player at TJ, but few are aware of the obstacles she has overcome over the years. For these accomplishments she was recently awarded the Comeback Player of the Year award by the Denver Nuggets, which gave her a scholarship for a thousand dollars and an additional thousand to fund TJ’s athletic facilities.
Adrovic started playing basketball when she was five years old, playing for the YMCA. She moved on to playing in a club team with the Denver Gators up until seventh grade when she was afflicted with her first major injury, tearing her ACL during a game in January of 2012. “I actually tore it at TJ. I was running and my knee bent in, and everything hurt really bad,” said Adrovic. She tore both her ACL and meniscus in September of the same year.
Adrovic was not discouraged by these injuries. Once she recovered she resumed playing and continued to strengthen her abilities. She even landed a spot on TJ’s varsity basketball team during her freshman year. Varsity basketball coach Damion Allen said, “Adna’s self-confidence set her apart from other freshmen when she tried out. She came to me right after tryouts and asked me what she had to do to make varsity.” During this past basketball season she tore her meniscus a second time and had to sit out for the rest of the season.
On March 25, Adrovic won the Comeback Player of the Year award with the Denver Nuggets for her achievements. Jim Gillian, a retired Nuggets trainer, gives scholarships to student athletes who have overcome significant injuries. Athletic director Andrew Skari, who nominated Adrovic for the award, said, “She has torn her ACL twice and torn her meniscus twice, basically she has been in physical therapy since the seventh grade. Most people would’ve given up.” Allen said, “Adna is a great student athlete and through all the adversity she faced, she always had a positive outlook.”
On the day Adrovic received the award, she was additionally given courtside seats to the Nuggets-76ers game. Before the game, she met Jusuf Nurkic, a Bosnian player for the Denver Nuggets. “We came early before the game and we were taken to the hallway where the players were, and he came out and gave me a jersey. It was really cool because we speak the same language.”
The main reason Adrovic wanted to meet Nurkic was because of their shared Bosnian background. Nurkic was born in Bosnia, and Adrovic draws inspiration from him because of his roots. “It was cool to see someone from there come up into the NBA because it’s harder to get farther since Bosnia isn’t as developed of a country compared to here,” Adrovic explained. Although she was born in the U.S., Adrovic considers being Bosnian to be an important part of her identity. “I love where I come from. Even though I was born in the U.S. it feels good to go back home and visit my family. I think it’s a big part of me,” she said.
Adrovic plans to continue to play basketball at TJ for the next two years and hopes to play basketball in college. She is currently considering the University of North Carolina and the University of Southern California. “UNC is my dream school, and USC has a good sports medicine program, which is what I want to study.” Adrovic was inspired to study sports medicine because of her experiences with injuries, rehabilitation, and recovery.
Adrovic has clearly shown dedication and ambition in her progression as a basketball player, and has a great deal of potential to play in the future. She is a valuable addition to not only TJ’s basketball team but the entire TJ community.
