Supporting her teammates on and off the court has remained a No. 1 priority despite personal injury

By Rebecca Blaeser '98

She sat on her bed dressed in Harvard basketball sweatpants and a torn, frayed Laguna Niguel High School T-shirt. Her 5-foot-11-inch frame, bushy ponytail, and the scratches along her arm exude basketball, but one glance does not tell the whole story. It is only when you talk to Karun Grossman about her favorite sport that you uncover the passion, the laughter, the struggles, and the pain which have colored her four-year career. You ask about her team and her eyes light up and she becomes animated, but when the conversation turns to herself, tears well up.

She's neither the star nor the first one off the bench -- oftentimes she barely steps onto the court. The role which Grossman plays, however, can never be measured in points. After three years of battling a typically career-ending injury, she has persevered, endured the pain, and still remains one of the most integral parts of the women's basketball team. What makes her story even more compelling is the fact that just a few months ago, she couldn't even walk.

"Karun has one of the biggest challenges and one of the most painful situations because she had an incredibly unusual injury," says Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith. "At the beginning of the season we sat down and talked about how much respect I have for her for doing that."

While most players were spending their summers perfecting their shot, Grossman was relearning how to stand on her feet. During her sophomore year, the California native began experiencing sharp pains in her feet. Constant icing masked the problem for a season, but eventually the Achilles injury became unbearable. Doctors and physical trainers had no answers, so Grossman was left to find her own cure.

"I've heard a lot of technical words, but no one has had any great ideas for treatment," says Grossman, whose therapy has traveled numerous medical avenues. "I only went to the alternative treatments when there was little doubt that I would ever be able to play again."

Whether it was the weekly injections into her feet or the bulky bilateral boots which she wore around campus for three months, Grossman persevered through the daily regimen and the intense pain to the point where she could finally step onto the court again this September. Yet throughout the three-year struggle, few people realized the magnitude of her endeavor.

"Even as a roommate I didn't know," says senior Sarah Brandt. "She was so good at hiding it and being so positive that most people on the team didn't know much about the turmoil and sadness she was experiencing."

But her career was not always one marred with injury and physical therapy. One of her most memorable moments and one which will remain in the record books for some time occurred in the final game of her sophomore year. Grossman teased the basketball world with her talent when she played a key role in the Crimson's near upset of national powerhouse Vanderbilt in the national tournament, sinking two crucial three-pointers.

"She was awesome," marveled junior Suzie Miller. "She was just money in that game and she is just a money shooter. She has such confidence in her shot and there is no thinking involved -- she knows that it's going in."

And it is that very confidence not only on the court, but in the locker room which makes Grossman the spoke in the wheel, the heart of the team, and the friend to all.

"She's just Karun. What would we do without her?" Miller asks. "She is so funny, lighthearted, and goofy and she's not afraid to laugh at herself or be laughed at," Brandt adds with a smile. "She keeps everyone laughing and in good spirits and it would be so much less fun without her around every day."

But knowing Karun Grossman, she is not going anywhere -- she cares too much about her team and her sport to do that. And it will indeed prove well worth the sacrifice.

"I know that I have an incredibly important role for my team that has absolutely nothing to do with putting the ball through the hoop on the basketball court. I am committed to doing that role and being that person for my teammates. It isn't necessarily what I would choose for myself if I did have a choice, but I am proud and honored to be able to be that person for this team."

Years from now when she stares out of her office window, her sweatpants and tattered shirt replaced with a doctor's coat, the memories of her suffering will be dulled and the tears streaming down her face will no longer be those of pain.

"I wouldn't choose what I have had to go through for anybody, much less myself, and that's why I have had a hard time with it. I do know that persevering through it will make this team better and will be a valuable memory for me when I look back."