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From this morning's New York Times.


Comeback by Mourning Isn't Out of the Question


By LEE JENKINS

Published: January 17, 2004


Four weeks after Alonzo Mourning had a kidney transplant, he is craving a workout.

He tells his doctor that he wants to run and lift weights. By the end of this season, perhaps he will want to play basketball, too.

For now, Mourning must continue to rest. He cannot participate in any physical activity for at least another two weeks, but his recovery has gone so smoothly that his doctor, Gerald Appel, says there is a chance that Mourning will be able to return to the N.B.A. and rejoin the Nets.

"It could very well come up," Appel said Wednesday in a telephone interview. "The one thing Alonzo has never had is an N.B.A. championship, and if the Nets are contenders, this could be an issue. I'm not writing it off. As well as I've known Alonzo the last three and a half years, I know that it's in the back of his mind. So it has to be in the back of my mind, too."

Mourning and Appel struck an agreement that neither of them would bring up basketball for six weeks after the Dec. 19 surgery. At that point, Mourning can be more confident that his body will not reject the kidney donated by his cousin Jason Cooper and that he will not experience a recurrence of the disease focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

As he rehabilitates at his home in New Jersey and as the incision near his abdomen heals, Mourning, 33, monitors the Nets and talks on the phone with Jason Kidd, Rod Thorn and Byron Scott.

When Mourning cut short his comeback in November, Scott immediately predicted that Mourning would eventually ponder a comeback. Although Mourning, who signed a four-year, $23 million contract during the off-season, has not issued any statement along that line, he has also not officially retired and is on the Nets' injured list.

According to some N.B.A. fans, Mourning is still a player. He ranks second among Eastern Conference centers in the All-Star voting, behind Detroit's Ben Wallace. When asked if there was any way that Mourning could participate in the All-Star game if he overtook Wallace, Appel responded, "When is it?"

There is no chance he can be ready to play in the Feb. 15 game, but Appel does expect Mourning to be able to travel by then and suggested that he might be able to fly to Los Angeles to attend the event.

If Mourning wants to join the Nets for the playoffs, even just to sit on the bench, they will gladly welcome him. Scott said he believed Mourning could be a positive influence in the locker room.

Before the transplant, Appel indicated that chances were slim that Mourning could ever play in another N.B.A. game. He sounds much more optimistic after watching Mourning stick to his regimen in the past month. Mourning reports to Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center twice a week for check-ups and to have his medication adjusted.

Mourning has drawn motivation from other athletes who successfully came back from debilitating diseases. During his stay in the hospital, Mourning read the autobiography of Lance Armstrong, the cyclist who overcame cancer to win five Tour de France titles.

A precedent has already been set for Mourning in the N.B.A. Sean Elliott had a kidney transplant in August 1999 and returned to the San Antonio Spurs in March 2000, and Greg Ostertag donated a kidney to his sister in June 2002 and still plays for the Utah Jazz. Both Elliott and Ostertag have sought out Mourning to offer advice.

"If you ask Alonzo, he says he feels great," Appel said. "He feels good and looks good. He wants to work out, not necessarily for playing, but because it's what he loves to do. I always like to caution my words, but everything is going right according to schedule."

Although Mourning played only 12 games for the Nets, they miss his presence on the second unit. Without him, the bench has been unproductive, perhaps the most disappointing facet of the team. Mourning had been expected to carry the reserves.

Instead, he is not yet allowed to step on a treadmill or lift a barbell. That will be next in a series of steps that could lead him back to basketball.