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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Memphis coach Penny Hardaway had one crucial piece of advice for senior guard Luke Almodovar after slamming backward onto the court at Memorial Gym on Tuesday night.
Hold onto the rim when throwing down a dunk.
“You can’t let that rim go,” Hardaway said. “Just the way he jumped, a lot of momentum going forward. You got to keep the rim, fell and kind of hit the back of his head. It’s an ugly fall, but just good to see him come back out on the court.”
The nasty fall Hardaway spoke about came with 10:27 left in a 105-81 loss to No. 22 Vanderbilt. Almodovar silenced the gym when he went up high and dunked only to land awkwardly on his head with such a thud that silenced the gym. He stayed prone on the court for a couple minutes before sitting up with help, then going to the locker room.
Almodovar returned to the bench a few minutes later and wanted back in the game. He stayed on the bench even with a game-high 21 points by the transfer from Southeast Missouri State.
Seeing how hard Almodovar landed brought back a scary memory for Vanderbilt senior Berke Büyüktuncel. The transfer who played at Nebraska the past two seasons and started his career at UCLA recalled seeing a teammate swallow his tongue in a similar incident. He worried when he didn’t see Almodovar moving at first.
“Thanks to God he’s OK, and I hope he’s going to be fine for the other games too,” Büyüktuncel said.
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