Stay in Your Lane | Lonzo Ball

Chapter 67

Lonzo

3 Weeks Later

Tuesday, February 21st

"Alright, Zo. You're looking great. You're strength is definitely increasing. Not favoring that knee nearly as much."

Hearing those words from my trainer was everything to me right now.  I nodded as I wiped my sweat drenched face with a towel he tossed to me.

"How does it feel?" he asked.

"It feels great," I responded tugging on my new knee brace, "especially with this."

It was slim, comfortable and made my knee feel secure. More importantly, it made me confident in my movements on the floor. Over the past few weeks, my rehab has intensified methodically. Johnny had worked me up to doing full court drills, quick lateral movements and some weightlifting while getting the cardio in to ensure that I stayed in game shape.

"Good, I say we are definitely on track to have you back in time for the conference tournament. You'll go for your re-evaluation next Wednesday. I talked with Coach Alford and I think we're okay to give you some monitored minutes next Saturday vs. Washington State. That'll also give you another week of practice before the first tournament game."

I could feel myself grinning from ear to ear. God knows I couldn't wait to get back on the floor. Especially with me knowing that this would be my last hurrah here at UCLA. Although I knew coming in that I would only be here for a year, I still wanted to make a mark.

Johnny instructed me to go get STEM treatment before heading out to practice, where I would do my stretches and participate in shoot-around drills.

As I was making my way through the halls crutch-free, I ran into the girls team who were exiting out the main gym and heading for their locker room. Izzy wasn't in the mix. Probably still out there putting up shots. As much of a hard worker that I am on my own, she really inspires me to work that much harder. She busts her ass everyday- multiple times a day to be as good as she is.

Our relationship has definitely been a bright spot amongst my injury, the drama surrounding my dad's comments to the media and our crazy exes.

Since that night at her house, we haven't been able to see each other as much in person with both us traveling for road games, our practice schedule, classes and my rehab schedule. However, any chance I had to make time for her I did whether that was walking her class, eating together in the cafe, or sleeping over on nights that we were both on campus. While we haven't officially said that we're boyfriend and girlfriend, that night pretty much confirmed that it was the direction we were headed in.

After my stem treatment, I headed back to the gym. I smiled as I saw Izzy coming down the hallway, still in her practice gear with a ball hoisted on her hip.

"Hey, beautiful," my voice grabbed her attention from her cellphone.

"Hey," she smiled up at me, "What's up? How was the knee today?"

"Rehab went good. Got some good news."

"Again? You're killin' it this week," she playfully nudged my shoulder, "I told you that you'd be back in no time."

I nodded, "Johnny said I should be getting some minutes next Saturday after I'm cleared T
that Wednesday."

"I'm proud of you, Zo. I really am."

"Now you can be in the stands going all crazy for ya boy again," I let my arm drape over her shoulder.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, "here you go."