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osh Reaves' problems started with headaches. The 4rst complaint was before his Nittany Lions faced Michigan State on Jan. 10. Squinting from the lights at the Bryce Jordan Center, Reaves attempted to play through the discomfort as best he could. Medicine wasn't alleviating the headaches though, and in the meantime he'd developed a sore throat, prompting a trip to a doctor. Tested for strep throat and mononucleosis, Reaves' physician of- fered a succinct diagnosis. "I took the mono test 4rst, and they said that's what it is," Reaves recalled. "It's clear. There's no other thing it could be." Reaves was devastated. He had never missed a high school or AAU game due to illness or injury. He had barely missed any practice time, either, and on those rare occasions when a minor injury did force him to take it easy, he quickly found his frustration level rising. Having to sit out with mono seemed like an incompre- hensible sentence. Reaves had started 14 of 17 games to that point in the season, averaging 25.1 minutes and 6.7 points per game and lead- ing the team in steals. And then, a7er that promising start, everything came to an abrupt halt. "I was in shock," Reaves said. "I was surprised. I was mad. It was like a 'Why me?' type of thing." Upon hearing the diagnosis, Reaves un- derstood what the illness could do to his body. He was a teenage pogo stick on the hardwood, but his youthful energy and stamina were sure to dwindle, and the physical e6ects of the illness would be compounded by the mental strain of spending weeks on end quarantined in his room. That's what he thought, anyway. People who contract mono typically ex- perience extreme fatigue, sore throat, fever and headaches, but to Reaves, the symptoms weren't debilitating. When he tested his physical stamina – by running up 5ights of stairs to get back to his room – he would mostly feel like himself. But not entirely. He gradually came to realize that he couldn't reach the energetic peaks that he needed to hit in order to compete at a high level. "I would just feel normal," Reaves said. "I felt like I was good to play and I was 4ne, but in reality I was a couple of steps behind. It just slowed me down." Forced to stay home when the team trav- eled to Purdue and Northwestern, Reaves grew frustrated at being away from his teammates and missing games. But even- tually, he developed a broader outlook on his situation. Given the opportunity to press pause on his true freshman season and rest, he saw on 4lm a chance to eval- uate his strengths and weaknesses through the 4rst half of the year. And for the team as a whole, from missed rebounding chances to tipped balls and communication breakdowns, Reaves said he developed a di6erent eye for the game. Knowing he had been a step slow, Reaves said he concentrated on conditioning workouts with the team trainer to generate additional speed and stamina on his way back to action. He could also put up a few shots before games at the Bryce Jordan Center, but a full third of the conference schedule passed before Reaves was able to able to play again. Rejoining a team that had gone 1-5 in his absence, Reaves and the Nittany Lions made his return count, as they upset first-place Indiana at the BJC on Feb. 6. He only played 10 minutes in a reserve role and didn't score, but he was finally back on the court. A week later at Ne- MEN'S BASKETBALL HEALTHY OUTLOOK Josh Reaves makes good use of unexpected downtime | J JOSH REAVES // PENN STATE GUARD I got to sit back and take a moment to see what I've done this year and see what I can do better. ... It was kind of key for me to take a di!erent viewpoint and just watch Penn State basketball." " BWI file photo

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