The Tribune

by RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Zane Knowles expected to take Hungary’s Zalakerámia ZTE KK basketball club by storm this season, but a possible life threatening injury - discovered by happenstance - sidelined those plans for the immediate future.

Knowles recently sought treatment for what he described as a minor hamstring injury when doctors discovered a rare Arteriovenous Fistula (AVF) that will require surgery.

An AVF, is an abnormal connection of vessels in the tissues around the brain or spinal cord in which one or more arteries are directly connected to one or more veins or venous spaces.

No timetable has been set for his return.

“It’s amazing how as an athlete you can feel great but you never know what’s really going on inside of your body. You do everything in the off-season and pre-season to prepare to make sure you’re in perfect condition to help take your team to the next level,” Knowles posted in a message to fans on his Instagram account, “However, a simple hamstring problem led to me going to get an MRI, where they discovered something else much more serious than that. If I had played one more game or practice I could have collapsed and bled out internally on the basketball court, a potentially deadly outcome. The MRI revealed that I had a rare Arteriovenous Fistula (AVF) , an abnormal connection between the artery and vein, making my vein four times larger than size because of the pressure coming in from the artery. In my eyes, God made it happen this way because I would have never known what’s happening on the inside. So it’s kind of hard to be angry or sad about what’s happening.The next step is getting surgery so I can return back to normal.”

A 6’9’ centre, Knowles was one of three international signees for Zalakeramia as the club looked to rebuild from an 11-25 finish last season.

“Thank you to everyone who has reached out to me, but this is life, things happen. So I’ll take this hit and keep on moving forward,” Knowles said, “I’m still alive, others are not today. Someone else’s problems are always worse than yours. So at the end of the day, I’m still blessed and thankful!”

Zalakerámia competes in Hungary’s Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A, the top tiered league in country. Artúr Puskás, the club’s professional director, discussed the impact of the Bahamian import on the organisation and his situation moving forward.

“Over the summer, long and thorough background work preceded Zane Knowles ’contract, and he justified our expectations both professionally and as a person. He is a hard working, likeable guy who is committed to his own and his team’s best performance. I should say, unfortunately, we had to face this problem, but instead, I say that it is incredibly important for his own health and career that we became aware of a congenital disorder in his thigh during a routine examination,” he said, “We offered him to come back to us next season and continue what we started this year. Of course, the basic condition for this is that you can fully recover and be aware of the pain caused by ‘arteriovenous malformation’ and the inherent risks to his life in extreme cases.”

The club also offered Knowles the option to facilitate his rehab and Pusksas called it a “serious” loss for the club, but they remain focused on his recovery.

“This situation is not easy for anyone. Zane is a proud warrior who has been injury free, so it’s not easy to process this news. Despite all this, he still wanted to play now, but we [agreed] that health is the most important thing in the world and ZTE cannot allow him physical activity in the knowledge of the results,” Puskas said, “In addition, according to vascular surgeon specialists, this genetic legion can be eliminated with a catheter procedure and, after proper rehabilitation, may be able to play professionally again. Our club offered him that if he decided on the intervention in Hungary after considering the possibilities, he could perform the after-treatment procedure with the help of physiotherapist Laura Bokor, physiotherapist and fitness trainer Dániel Debreczeni. I would also like to thank the medical council led by Dr Zoltán Szalai.”

Knowles spent much of the summer at home giving back to the local basketball community as an instructor at the 33rd annual Jeff Rodgers Summer Basketball Camp. He spent last season with Baikesir Buyuksehir Belediyespor of the Turkish Basketball League. In 31 games, he averaged 15.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

In a busy 2019-20 season, Knowles played in three leagues and two countries before the COVID-19 pandemic brought basketball to an end globally. He concluded the campaign with Levski Lukoil of the Bulgarian NBL League. In just two games with the club, he averaged 13 points, seven rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. Prior to Bulgaria, he began the season with PAOK Thessaloniki in the Greek Champions League where through 12 games he averaged 6.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. In Greece, he also played 16 games in the Greek A1 League where he averaged 9.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

In 2018-19 Knowles was in the French ProB League with Etoile Charleville-Mezieres. In 27 games with the club, he recorded 9.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Knowles spent his first professional season with Siarka Tarnobrzeg and King Wilki Morskie Szczecin of the Polish Basketball League or Tauron Basket Liga, the highest level of pro basketball in the country. He has also played professionally in Japan (Tokyo Cinq Reves and Wakayama Trians) where he averaged 9.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 24 total appearances before making the move to France.

He spent his freshman year at Grambling, where he was hampered by several injuries and followed with a brief stint at Pearl River Community College. Knowles completed his final two years of eligibility with the Texas A and M Corpus Christi Islanders. Coming out of Texas A and M Corpus Christi, Knowles was drafted by the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G-League in the third round (68th overall). He also participated in the G-League’s Star’s Open Tryouts before being cut in training camp and eventually signing in Poland.