It’s been a rough three years for junior guard Travis Trice, who has been haunted during his career by three I’s: injury, infection and illness.
Ever since stepping on campus in 2011, Trice has been in an epic battle with the injury bug that has caused him to miss 16 games and countless hours of practice. Times haven’t gotten any easier for the Ohio native, as he has been hampered with blistered feet in December and what he believes was the flu last week.
The sore feet and illness this season don’t compare to the brain infection he fought the summer before his sophomore year. The infection caused him to lose 22 pounds, and had head coach Tom Izzo “worried about his life.”
“I was out for, what? Three months?” Trice said. “I lost everything. It’s like I was starting from scratch, so the hardest part was trying to get back into shape.”
Going through the adversity of what seems like a never-ending stream of health problems isn’t something he is doing on his own. With an army of support back home, Trice said keeping his focus during his injuries isn’t the hard part, it’s keeping an upbeat attitude.
“Staying focused is the easy part, it’s just not getting down (on yourself),” he said. “That’s really frustrating especially when this is what you love to do.”
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