Iowa Hawkeyes men’s hoops frosh Josh Dix updates his progress from scary injury
Iowa Hawkeyes 2022 signee Josh Dix suffered a scary injury that ended his high school career. On Jan. 21 with his Council Bluffs Lincoln squad leading Le Mars 52-33 and 1:45 remaining, Dix went up to block a shot, found his legs tangled and wound up landing awkwardly.
What resulted was Dix suffering a broken tibia and broken fibula, the same injury Paul George suffered in 2014. Naturally, that put his true freshman season—or at least the start of it—in question with the Hawkeyes.
Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery said he’s expecting Dix back, full-go to start the month of September. On Tuesday, Dix met with the Iowa media and discussed the injury, his rehab and when he expects to fully integrate into the Hawkeyes’ rotation.
What he thought when he first suffered the injury
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As one would expect with an injury of this magnitude, Josh Dix was in a state of shock when it happened.
“Yeah, I was kind of in shock. I knew that I was hurt, but I couldn’t really feel it or anything. The only part I could feel is when they were trying to pull my shoe off. That hurt pretty bad, but otherwise I couldn’t really feel anything,” Dix said.
He knew it wasn’t going to be a quick road back to fully healthy status either.
“I kind of knew I was going to be out a long time. I mean, just like hearing the same thing, it was the same injury as Paul George. I kind of knew like everyone was saying that took about eight months, so just knowing that I’d probably be around the same time frame. I wondered if I would be able to play this year. Obviously, that was a big question of mine,” Dix said.
What the rehab process has been like
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“It was tough. I only went like once a week to a rehab, but they had me doing a bunch of stuff at home. It was tough. I used to work out like four times a day doing rehab stuff, just like ankle mobility at first because that was all I could really do. Then, I got into jumping, leg movement and all of that kind of stuff,” Dix said.
What he's working on now
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“Oh yeah, so recently I’ve started working out with the team and stuff like that. Like the last couple weeks, I’ve been doing everything that they’ve been doing except contact stuff. So, when they go up and down, I can’t do that, but like non-contact stuff, I’ve been doing all that. Good days, I do that. On bad days, I mean…in the weight room, I usually do everything the team’s doing now. On bad days, it’s just less workouts usually. Good days, I can do more workouts,” Dix said.
The shot never left him
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
The first couple of months of rehab meant a lot of resting and no serious workouts for Dix.
“I couldn’t work out for about a solid two months after that because I was in a boot and stuff, but I could still form shoot and I would just do stationary dribbling sitting in a chair and stuff like that but that was about all that I could do,” Dix said.
One thing that really never left was Dix’s jump shot itself.
“No, my leg’s getting actually pretty strong right now, so my shots been normal. It feels normal, since before I first got injured. That’s one of the things that felt normal, one of the first things that felt normal was my shot,” Dix said.
Getting back to fully trusting his body physically
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Of course, one of the primary hurdles athletes run into with an injury like this is regaining full trust in their body physically. Essentially, not thinking and just getting back to doing what they could do physically before the injury happened.
“Oh yeah, for sure, especially in the last month. I mean, it’s been hard. I’ve been starting to sprint and stuff like that, so just kind of getting the technique back. I’ve been running on a treadmill over at the track center, anti-gravity, just like adjusted body weight and stuff. I’ve been running. I’ve been getting back up to my body weight just trying to correct my technique again,” Dix said.
The good news is Dix hasn’t been overthinking as he’s shot or dribbled in the months since to try and accommodate for his injury.
“Not really. I mean, I haven’t really played an actual game for a while, so I haven’t really been there. Shooting, dribbling, I haven’t really thought about anything like that or that wasn’t normal,” Dix said.
That’s fantastic news. It sounds like all of that has been completely natural, which is no guarantee with an injury like this.
The itch to play, thankful to McCaffery
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Dix had the itch to get back out there almost immediately after suffering his setback.
“Oh yeah, it’s been rough. I had an itch even when I first got hurt, you know, just seeing my high school teammates and not being able to finish out the year with them. Here now, it’s really hard. I’ve been here for like a month and a half. I mean, the first month, I was working over on that court while everyone was playing over here. Even now, I just try and cheer everyone on, do what I have to do to be a good teammate while I’m out,” Dix said.
He appears to be tracking well to be available for the Hawkeyes’ start of the season. One thing is definitely true. Dix is very appreciative of McCaffery and the Iowa staff for trusting in his ability to recover.
“Oh yeah, for sure, I mean, I’m just grateful that coach McCaffery trusts my work ethic and stuff that I’ll be back,” Dix said.
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