It was the last way Brent Bauer wanted to start his college basketball career - wondering if that start would have to be put on hold.
That was his fear as he sat on the court, clutching his right knee and feeling his patella pop back into place. It was the West Virginia State University freshman guard's introduction to the college ranks, a knee injury during his first week on campus as a Yellow Jacket.
"The first thought in my head was, 'Oh, my goodness,'" he said. "I didn't know how long it was going to take."
It was longer than he expected, but not so long that it cut into his inaugural college hoops season. He's been a significant contributor the entire way and a starter for most of the 2015-16 campaign.
That knee injury threw a hint of doubt into whether Bauer would be ready for the season's first game. He was driving to the hoop and threw a mid-air pass to the corner. As he came down, his right leg became tangled in the legs of teammate Terrence Jenkins. As the pain seared through his leg, he looked down and saw his kneecap wasn't where it was supposed to be.
The Xenia, Ohio, native understood he was lucky. There was no torn cartilage and no need for surgery. He also understood what that meant for his development in his first season.
"I knew it was going to set me back," he said. "I knew I was going to have to get back into shape. I knew it was going to be at least a two-month injury."
Recovery time ended up lasting three months. And while the physical aspects are returning to normal, Bauer admits he still has some work mentally to get over the injury. He'll sometimes catch himself during a fast break getting worried about jumping off his right foot.
Those worries disappear during competition, though. The flow of the game and his attention to the action keeps his mind away from his knee.
"The adrenaline is going," Bauer said. "I just love the game and I'm focused on winning."
State head coach Bryan Poore said there are some physical parts to Bauer's game that still need to return to full strength, like his lateral quickness, but he feels the freshman's right knee will be fine.
"I think it will, and that's just going to come with time, I think," he said. "The more he plays on it, the more comfortable he's going to be with it."
It hasn't stopped Poore from placing a lot of responsibility on the 5-foot-8 Bauer's shoulders. He's started six State's nine games so far this season and has played in all of them, averaging 19.7 minutes. He's tied for second on the team with 22 assists and averages 6.6 points per game.
The scoring load isn't like it was at Xenia High School, where he averaged 16.7 points, 3.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals as a senior. But he realizes that load doesn't have to be his to bear for the 4-5 Yellow Jackets.
"In high school, I needed to score those buckets and needed to take those shots," he said. "Here, we have a lot of scorers. It's a totally different level, so many players who can get the ball in the bucket. I'm just trying to control the game and I feel more comfort at this level than in high school because of that."
In recruiting Bauer, Poore saw his skill in controlling a game and distributing the ball. It's a big reason why he started both Bauer and fellow freshman guard Frank Webb in State's last game, a 97-83 loss to Bowie State, and played them together extensively in the game before, a 99-92 win over Urbana. Poore gets a pair of young, skilled ball-handlers on the floor at the same time. And being a floor leader is what Poore thinks might be Bauer's collegiate calling.
"He's a true point guard, he really is," he said. "He understands the game, thinks the game, delivers the ball to the right people. That's what has made him able to come out and play this early. I think his best basketball is yet to be seen."
Poore's faith in Bauer, even after the injury and the road traveled to come back from it, is a boost to the freshman's psyche. And it has helped him speed up the mental side of his recovery, to push the worry over that knee into the background and ready himself for the rest of the season, which resumes with a Jan. 4 game at West Liberty.
"It gives me a lot of confidence," Bauer said. "That helps me to not even think about the knee. The coaches have confidence in me to play me that many minutes and to have that big of an impact on the game. That's really encouraging for me. That truly takes the mental part of it away."