MIND OVER MATTER

WORLAND – In December, Worland senior Chandler Ramos got quite the surprise – and not the good kind.

After injuring his right knee in an open gym a month prior, Ramos noticed it wasn't getting any better. The pain was still there and he wasn't quite the same player as before. That's when he decided to seek medical attention and had his knee examined.

The injury turned out to be far more severe than he had imagined.

It was revealed Ramos had torn his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, a devastating knee injury that has ended the career of many athletes from the high school level all the way to the pros.

"They said I could play with it, but I would have to wear a brace. And they said the brace will limit my motion so I probably couldn't do some of the things I used to do," Ramos said. "Or I could get surgery and rehab my knee so that my knee would be ready by the time I went to college."

Unwilling to sit out his senior season, Ramos took the only route that would allow him to play. So each and every day in practice, he suited up for practice outfitted with a bulky brace on his right knee.

It took a while for him to get used to, but eventually he adapted. As the season wore on, Ramos started to show flashes of brilliance that he displayed throughout his junior year when he was an All-State selection. But even he could tell he wasn't the player he once was.

"I noticed right away I couldn't play like I used to. The moves that I used to use to get to the rim required me to plant with one leg, so if I tried to use those moves my leg would buckle on me almost every time I would try to plant on it with all my body weight," Ramos said. "So every time I would have to plant off of both my feet which slowed me down. I had to learn to be a less aggressive player so I wouldn't always get hurt."

All went well during the regular season as Ramos helped lead the Warriors to a 17-3 overall record, third-place finish at the 3A East Regional Boys Basketball Tournament and another trip to the Class 3A state basketball tournament.

Then in the semifinals against Wheatland on Friday, March 11, the unthinkable happened.

Scrambling after a loose ball early in the third quarter, Ramos fell to the hardwood at Casper College writhing in pain – gripping his right knee.

It was like his worst nightmare was happening all over again.

Ramos sat out the rest of the game, elevating his right leg along three chairs with an ice bag resting on top of his knee and watching as the Warriors used a fourth-quarter rally to take down the Bulldogs 42-35 and earn a return trip to the Class 3A state title game.

Early speculation was that Ramos was done for the tournament, meaning his season was over.

His high school career, over.

But once again, Ramos refused to let anyone else dictate his status for the championship game.

If he was to miss it, it would be his decision.

No one else's.

He woke up Saturday morning and quickly made his way to the pool in the team hotel, attempted to jog in the water as he tested the strength of his knee.

Ultimately, Worland boys basketball coach Aaron Abel left the decision up to his senior point guard. And as expected, Ramos chose to play.

"We knew if he was mentally prepared and thought he could do it, we were going to give him a chance at least," Abel said on Saturday. "We owed that much to him. He's done too much for this program and worked too hard for us not to give him that opportunity. That was his call."

Added Ramos: "I just knew I had to play through the pain. I didn't want to sit out my last high school basketball game. I wanted to play with them – with my teammates."

Ramos admitted he expected to play sparingly – to start the game and be pulled after the first dead ball. But his presence – his leadership – was needed on the court.

He logged the third-highest amount of court time on the team, playing 29 of the allotted 32 minutes and was one of the last five on the court for the Warriors.

The ball was in his hands in the final seconds of the game as he stood in the front court, dribbling and watching as the clock counted down.

Waiting feverishly for it to read all zeroes across the board, Ramos launched the ball into the air as the final buzzer sounded.

And in that instant, not even the agonizing pain that almost kept him from playing could stop him from enjoying the accomplishment he and his team had just achieved – Worland's first state title since 1921.

"It's amazing," Ramos said after the win on Saturday. "I'm proud of myself and of my team. We've been playing with each other for forever now and it's a great way for us to end it."

Asked about the fortitude and resiliency Ramos showed – not only in the championship game, but all season long – Abel was very precise with his words.

"I'm so proud of him. He's a warrior in every sense of the word."