Title/Alt TextCameron Ridley had one thought when he heard the initial diagnosis that he had fractured his foot during a Dec. 27 practice.

“When will I be able to get back on the court?”

The injury halted a banner season for Ridley after just 11 games. Ridley had averaged 12.5 points, 10 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in a career-high 26 minutes per game in that period, at times the centerpiece first-year head coach Shaka Smart’s new system.

Ridley, who had never before suffered an injury worse than a sprained ankle, told the coaches he’d do whatever it took to get back.

More than three months later Ridley has come a long way. But he’s not quite back yet with one game left in the regular season. Ridley will meet with a doctor early next week to determine if he’s cleared to run and jump – the last step before his return to the court.

Once that clearance comes, Ridley’s only hurdle is pushing himself into basketball shape.

“I feel good. I have no pain at all,” Ridley said Wednesday.

“It’s a process. I’m not just going to go out on the floor immediately. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have doubts. The coaches are going to help me work my way back in the game.”

While the process is nearly at its completion for Ridley, the road to even reach this point hasn’t been easy.

Texas junior point guard Isaiah Taylor said Ridley played like the top big man in America prior to his injury, and Ridley’s double-double average seems to back up that claim. Those future-altering performances – the 6-foot-10 center was finally living up to his five-star billing – made dealing with the injury for Ridley. More crippling, however, was the thought he couldn’t help his team as it entered conference play. A senior season lopped short before its critical portion.

“When you’re taken away from the sport you love you’ll have some sort of depression,” Ridley said. “But everybody is going to have some sort of adversity in their life, and I guess this is mine.”

Ridley said the coaching staff and his teammates have been nothing but supportive throughout the process, and they helped Ridley move out of his post-surgery funk quickly. In fact, a mere two days after the procedure, Ridley started lifting weights to stay in shape.

The initial workouts helped, but it’s perhaps another activity he took part in shortly after surgery that had an equally positive effect on his demeanor. Ridley knew the camera would be on him on the bench in his street clothes, and the big man was determined to look fly.

“A few days after my surgery I went to the store and got some stuff altered,” Ridley said with a grin.

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Bench attired assured – along with some warnings to his teammates not to step on his foot – Ridley’s full attention went to his workout routine. It’s hard to do much without the use of a person’s left leg, but Longhorn trainer, Laef Morris, and strength coach, Daniel Roose, were creative in keeping Ridley’s activity level high.

The pair had Ridley ride a stationary bike, use the rowing machine and even had him box on one leg. Those exercises along with consistent strength training allowed Ridley to stay around his listed 290 pounds – a victory for a player who’s spent much of his Texas career attempting to take weight off.

“Our trainer Laef Morris is doing a really good job of kind of taking it up to the line of what the doctor has made acceptable but not crossing it,” Smart said. “(Ridley) has done a terrific job with our strength coach and buying in.”

Ridley said once he’s cleared to run and jump it shouldn’t take him long to get back into rhythm, but he’s also aware he’ll be limited. It takes a while to reach peak basketball conditioning, and the 26-minute clip he averaged early in the year is likely out of reach.

With one regular season game remaining – Friday against Oklahoma State – time is short for Ridley’s return. Ridley said he hopes to play in the Big 12 tournament, but he’s also not going to push the boundaries of his recovery.

“I’m staying off it and following the rules,” Ridley said. “I don’t want anything to happen with me just being hard headed. I don’t want to risk anything, because if it happens again I’d risk my future.”

A little more than three months after the initial injury Ridley is close to answering the question that’s bothered him for months.

But he’s not ready quite yet.

“We’re still hopeful we may get him back in the next week or two, but we don’t know,” Smart said.