For content people, this past weekend was like an all-you-can eat buffet. Where do you even start? Duke-UNC. Bob Knight returning to Indiana. XFL kicking off. The Oscars. The Independent Spirit Awards (go watch Adam Sandler's speech right now if you haven't). Golf even provided it's fair share of chaos thanks to Phil Mickelson, who didn't even win at Pebble Beach. It was can't stop, won't stop, which allowed perhaps the best moment of the entire weekend to fly a bit under the radar.
That moment occurred early in the second half of the Stanford-Colorado game, when Colorado big man Evan Battey stole the ball and began barreling down the court. Battey, who stands at 6-foot-8 and weighs 262 pounds, drove to the hoop and was met by Stanford's Oscar da Silva. Da Silva fouled him hard, and the two collided and slammed down hard against the hardwood. Both players appeared to be shaken up, but Battey sat up immediately. Da Silva, who hit the floor head first and began to bleed, was not moving.
The full sequence is a bit graphic, so I won't post the video below (you can go to YouTube and watch if you wish). What's far more important to watch is what happened after the collision and after da Silva was able to get off the court under his own power. Both teams and their coaches were understandably emotional, and they each gathered at mid-court to huddle up and say a prayer, which produced an incredible image:
https://twitter.com/HenryChisholm/status/1226300244696104961
Yep, definitely chills-inducing. Sometimes you'll see two opposing teams huddle and pray after a game, but rarely will you see it during. Great job by all involved, including the Colorado home crowd.
The result of the collision was especially terrifying for Battey, who, as NCAA.com's Andy Katz reported on Monday, suffered a stroke and two seizures in 2017. As Katz wrote, no one appreciates being on the court as much as Battey, which is why he had such a hard time settling down after seeing da Silva face down on the court.
After going to the locker room for 10 minutes to "get my head together," Battey returned and scored seven points, helping the Buffaloes overcome a 12-point deficit to win 81-74.
"It was an emotional game all the way through," Battey said. "And I don’t know how we played when I went into the locker room, I don’t know how Stanford played, but I know how I played, and I played for Oscar."
Fortunately, da Silva is reportedly going to be okay, though his timeline to return is undetermined. That's the best news involving an Oscar that we've heard all day.
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