Just hours before Houston’s matchup with Jackson State, redshirt sophomore center Jacob McFarland, who had not played since arriving in June 2023, decided to go home.
He cried when he got there, as over a year’s worth of bottled-up emotions were finally uncorked.
That same day, coach Kelvin Sampson set the stage for McFarland, telling him he’d be playing in that night’s game.
Those words carried the weight of two long years behind them.
Because in McFarland’s case, his patience wasn’t always planned.
McFarland took a traditional redshirt in the 2023-24 season, on a Houston team that boasted two veteran big men in redshirt senior J’Wan Roberts and junior Ja’Vier Francis, as well as two freshmen: Joseph Tugler and a 2022-23 redshirt, Cedric Lath.
The year allowed him to develop and get a courtside view of everything Houston basketball entails, as the Cougars marched their way to a fifth-straight Sweet 16 appearance.
McFarland went through the entire 2024 offseason gearing up for his debut season, getting acclimated to the teammates he’d be soon sharing the floor with.
Then, just one week before the season began, on Oct. 29, during a team practice, McFarland’s life changed in an instant.
He broke his leg, an injury that required him to be rushed to the hospital for immediate surgery.
“I was scared. I didn’t know what was going on. I had to get emergency surgery,” McFarland said. “When I woke up the next day, I couldn’t move my leg. I was scared.”
What made matters more daunting for McFarland was the fact that it wasn’t just his first surgery on a leg. It was his first surgery of any kind.
His mother was there the next morning, providing support at a time when he needed it more than ever.
She stayed with him for three weeks and through Thanksgiving break, when his father arrived.
“You don’t want to go through it alone. Having them with me, they just helped me, going from place to place,” McFarland said. “I still struggled walking to the bathroom, and basic stuff.”
Though McFarland couldn’t share the floor with his teammates, they made sure he never felt alone, giving him all the shoulders he needed to lean on.
Those of his class, such as Tugler, Lath, redshirt freshman Kordel Jefferson, and younger players like freshman guards Mercy Miller and Chase McCarty, became a constant presence, keeping him from going through the recovery alone.
“We’ve been roommates for three years. I never had a little brother, so he’s like my little brother,” Lath said. “I’ve been taking care of him since he got hurt. Always here for him, no matter what.”
Even with his family close by and teammates checking in, the process weighed on McFarland in ways that were harder to see.
“I feel like the majority of my recovery was really dark for me,” McFarland said.
McFarland often found himself in his own head, thinking negatively, and questioning why the injury happened to him and why he was chosen to go through all the hurdles of his recovery.
But in May, McFarland’s mindset flipped.
“I was like, there’s a lesson in this,” McFarland said. “So that’s why I would say I had a good summer.”
That shift in mindset proved critical when McFarland learned he needed another surgery, news that might once have overwhelmed him or sent him into the wrong headspace.
He was initially frustrated, given the progress he had steadily made, with McFarland saying his leg was at “about 70%” by the end of summer.
“At first, I was just like, dang bro. I just did all this to come back; it sucks,” McFarland said.
“I did more 4-on-4. I did so good!”
A phone call with one of his veterans from a year ago gave him all the reassurance he needed to have that second surgery.
“I called L.J. Cryer, and he was like ‘bro, would you rather be in pain right now, or get it fixed so later down the line you’re all good,’” McFarland said.
Three days removed from the surgery, McFarland was walking again, with significantly less recovery time expected.
By the first week of December, McFarland had returned to practice, the most significant sign yet that a debut was nearing the horizon.
“I feel like at first I was babying it because you want to baby it. But I feel like when I really started getting back into practice, really getting back to flow, K.C. [Beard] and I talked about it,” McFarland said. “I was like, yeah, I’m going to give it a go. He’s the one who really pushed me.”
Sampson described seeing McFarland back practicing with the team as an emotional moment, given how far he had come since his first injury, to being involved more heavily in practice and being able to defend effectively in the post.
“You could see a joy in him the other day, and losing himself in guarding Cenac, or JoJo, or Kalifa, all those guys,” Sampson said on Dec. 4. “It’s good to see him back. It’s good to see a smile on his face, too.”
That joy stuck with McFarland into the following Wednesday, for his long-awaited college debut.
With 4:26 remaining in Houston’s matchup with Jackson State, McFarland was called to action and headed to the scorer’s table.
Before he could even be announced, the many who had still stuck around among the Fertitta Center crowd stood to their feet to give him a rousing ovation years in the making.
His teammates stood as well, applauding and urging the crowd to get even louder.
“I try not to show how much I appreciate the fan base in the moment, because I was trying to lock in, but I really do appreciate the fan base,” McFarland said. “Even though I haven’t been playing, I’ve been out with injuries, just sticking with me and then giving me an ovation. It really meant a lot to me.”
The four-plus minutes he played weren’t about production, but rather the perseverance they represented.
“It was just surreal to me,” McFarland said. “Just being here for three years, just watching my freshman year, getting hurt last year.”
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