Tyler Cochran doesn’t have to go far to get advice on dealing with season-altering injuries.
His roommate is AJ Edu, who has a Ph. D. in the mental anguish that comes with suffering injuries.
“It’s something I can relate to quite well,” Edu said. “I definitely want to be a source of encouragement for him and help him out.”
Cochran, a junior transfer from Ball State and Northern Illinois, is currently out with a severe case of turf toe, which has lingered since Thanksgiving. The hard-charging 6-foot-2, 220-pound guard puts a tremendous amount of stress on his body, and despite a high pain tolerance, he has been ruled out for at least two weeks.
And then Toledo has a major decision to make: redshirt Cochran or put him back in the lineup?
He’s played in nine games, which will be less than 30 percent of UT’s season. But if he appears in one more game, Cochran will pass the threshold.
“It really comes down to the medical staff giving Tyler, his parents, and myself the best information possible,” Rockets coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “I’ll sit down with mom and dad and Tyler, and we’ll make a decision that’s best for his future. I’d say right now it’s looking favorable that we’ll redshirt him. But you never know. If he comes back in two or three weeks and is 100 percent healthy, we’ll have a really hard decision to make.”
Friday’s game at Buffalo will be the 10th game Cochran has missed since suffering the injury late in the second half of UT’s loss to East Carolina on Nov. 22 at the Gulf Coast Showcase. He sat out two games, returned at George Mason, sat out five games, returned for the Mid-American Conference opener against Ball State, and now he’s missed the past two games.
Cochran already had a reputation for being a rugged defender, earning all-defensive team honors in the MAC. And he exhibited his controlled aggression with four steals in an early signature win over Alabama-Birmingham. In 22.4 minutes per game, Cochran is averaging 9.2 points, shooting 52.5 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3, with 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals.
“No one ever wants to sit out,” he said. “You feel like you’re letting the team down. You need to put your health first but also not feel like you’re letting the team and the coaching staff down. It’s going to be a very hard decision.
“I’ve always been the guy who’s pushed through [pain]. I probably haven’t been 100 percent my entire life. It’s probably one reason why I've tried to come back twice now. This has been tough for me. The competitor in me wants to get out there. But I don’t want to have another setback. I have to realize I’m not OK. When it’s time to make a decision, I’m sure my body will tell me what’s right, not my mind.”
Hamstring issues kept Cochran out of games during his time at Northern Illinois and Ball State.
EJ Farmer, Andre Lorentsson, and Elijah Wilson are directly impacted by Cochran’s status. In the past two games, the trio has seen their minutes increase and contributed to the Rockets’ bottom line with 26 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and one blocked shot.
They were plus-31 in 65 minutes.
“It’s a very critical moment,” Kowalczyk said. “This is their opportunity to showcase that they are guys who can help us win basketball games. And I’ve been very encouraged the past couple games by our bench.”
Edu suffered three major knee injuries over the previous three years, costing him 84 games. He returned at Northern Illinois last season, his first game action in 443 days, but was quickly shut down again because of soreness and a psychological barrier.
The summer of 2022 helped Edu plow through any remaining roadblocks. He’s played in all 18 games this season, averaging 10.7 minutes, 2.8 points, and 3.5 rebounds.
“We’re all competitors,” Edu said. “We all want to win. We all want to help the team win. When you aren’t able to do that or do anything about it, and you just have to sit there and watch, it can be tough.”
For Edu, it was vital to remain connected to the team and feel part of what they were accomplishing on the court.
“The support on the bench and the energy you bring is important,” he said. “It adds up to winning games and losing games. That was something that helped me stay locked in.”
Unexpectedly, Toledo is 8-1 without Cochran. It’s a surprising stat that is hard to decipher. Cochran at his best in the UAB game proved what he can do for the Rockets at both ends of the court. It remains an impressive win and offers a glimpse of what UT can be with a fully healthy fullback playing guard.
“Clearly, he’s a really good player,” Kowalczyk said. “But now that we’re settling into a rotation, we’re playing better. We aren’t playing the game of what-if. That’s never a good game to play.”
For now, Cochran is forced to sit and wait. He’ll be on the bench offering his teammates advice and support. The turf toe healing process is lengthy and tortuous, as Cochran is finding out.
What the end result will be is anyone’s guess.
“It’s the worst,” Cochran said. “As much as I smile and laugh, it’s tough for people to understand what someone is going through when everyone isn’t around. It just sucks.”
First Published January 19, 2023, 8:25 p.m.
