‘I never doubted myself.’ Fireworks injury hasn’t slowed Harlan County’s Reggie Cottrell
There might have been a few folks who questioned whether Harlan County’s Reggie Cottrell could return to the basketball court after having his left index finger and parts of two other digits amputated due to injuries suffered in a fireworks accident last July Fourth.
Cottrell himself was not among them.
“No, I’ve never doubted myself. I know I love basketball, and I know I’m going to always play basketball no matter what happens,” Cottrell said as the Black Bears prepared to play No. 3 Frederick Douglass at Lafayette’s Jock Sutherland Classic on Saturday. “At first it was a little weird. I mean, I lost a finger and a half. I knew it was going to be a little weird, but I believe in God, and I knew God had me.”
Cottrell, a 6-2 junior who averages 10.2 points per game this season, had already proved his toughness last March when he played with a small fracture in his right wrist during Harlan County’s run to a 13th Region championship and the Boys’ Sweet 16 finals.
Trent Noah generated the headlines with his 48 points in an overtime state quarterfinals win against Campbell County, but it was Cottrell who hit a 3-pointer with that sore wrist in the extra period to give Harlan County its first lead since the first quarter. The Black Bears trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half before going on to win 85-71.
‘No question about it’
The fireworks injury took Cottrell’s perceived toughness to another level and made the entire team appreciate basketball more.
“He went from playing pickup with us in the gym every day to being uncertain if he’ll be able to play basketball again,” Harlan County senior guard Maddox Huff said. “That gave us all a sense of gratitude, and we approached every day with a different type of mentality, knowing that it can be taken away at any given time.”
A rolled ankle has caused Cottrell the most trouble this season. He missed seven games after spraining it a month in. He said it only took him a couple of weeks to forget about his hand as he played.
“He’s done pretty good,” Harlan County coach Kyle Jones said. “Obviously, at times, it hinders him, but I’m really proud of him..”
Cottrell’s impact goes beyond the games themselves. His teammates didn’t doubt he’d be back.
“You could just tell with his demeanor and his attitude that he wasn’t going to let something like this bring him down,” Huff said. “Right after it happened, I think one of his sisters asked if he was going to play basketball again, and he was like, ‘Of course. No question about it.’ I just think that mentality that he has and the attitude that he approached it with, that’s all the difference.”
Cottrell’s actually averaging nearly two more points per game than he did last season, although he’s taking fewer 3-pointers. But he doesn’t think about his games that way.
“As long as we win, I don’t care if I score zero,” he said. “I just try to help my team as much as possible.”
Loss to Douglass could be a springboard
Despite a pair of losses to 52nd District-rival Bell County, the Black Bears (18-7) remain in the thick of the 13th Region race. South Laurel, Bell County and North Laurel are among the other teams who threaten.
Huff leads the way for the Black Bears. The 6-3 senior and East Tennessee State signee averages 29.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game and scored a game-high 28 points in Harlan County’s 70-58 loss to Douglass on Saturday.
The final scoreline hid how well the Black Bears played at times. Harlan County outscored Douglass 15-5 in the second quarter and led 35-28 at the half. Jaycee Carter added 14 points. Cottrell scored five points with five rebounds, a steal and an assist.
“We just played, arguably, the best team in the state, and we were right there, neck and neck with them,” Huff said. “If they don’t make that late third-quarter run. I feel like we’re in it in the end.”
Douglass (20-2) turned up its defensive pressure in the second half, outscoring Harlan County 24-11 in the third quarter to retake the lead. DeMarcus Surratt led four Broncos in double figures with 17 points, followed by Tate Robinson’s 15, Aveion Chenault’s 13 and Jaunte “JJ” Jenkins’ 12.
A year ago at this same event, Douglass topped Harlan County 79-69. The Black Bears then reeled off 13 straight wins until running into Lyon County in the state finals. Jones took lessons from last year’s loss and this one.
“I told them that the first half we played well enough to win our district and region,” Jones said. “They’re a great team. (Douglass) responded well to being down, and, you know, we didn’t. We kind of let that physicality get to us a little bit.”
Jones and Huff said Harlan County would learn from their mistakes and aimed to fix them in the days ahead. They face South Laurel, Middlesboro, Harlan and Knox Central to close out the regular season.
“I’m happy with our team. I feel like we’re in a good place,” Huff said. “But those are the type of games we’ve got to win to make a run like we did last year.”
