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By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
Jahlil Tripp sat in the bleachers, crutches in hand, knowing things could have been much worse.
The Brooklyn Collegiate boys’ basketball star was struck in the calf by a stray bullet near the school following a girls’ basketball game earlier this month. The highly-recruited junior wing will be out of action until January — and feels lucky that’s the worst of it.
“I was pretty scared at the time, because I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Tripp said.
He and teammate Rashad John, who was with him, said they heard a gun shot, but were not sure exactly what it was at that moment. It could have been a fake gun or a firecracker. The second shot made them realize they were in danger so they ran — and only then did Tripp realize he was injured. They returned to the school where an ambulance was called.
“You saw the red stuff from the gun, sparkles, and everyone ran,” John recalled.
The small bullet is still in his leg after it pierced the muscle. Tripp must wait for it to be removed before he can start any kind of therapy, so he’s limited to being a cheerleader for now.
“It’s been really hard on me to just sit here and watch, and see my team play without me,” he said.
The 6-foot-3 Tripp, who has scholarship offers from Manhattan and Quinnipiac, was supposed to be a major piece for the Lions this season as the program tries to put itself among the Public School Athletic League’s elite teams. He scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in his lone league game this season, after averaging 9.3 points and 5.0 rebounds last season.
Brooklyn Collegiate is off to a 2–1 start behind John, Davere Creighton, Craig McKenzie and Cheyenne Nettleton. Tripp will be a big part of what the Lions hope is a deep playoff run when he returns.
“He knows with him there it is some added firepower that we need,” Lions coach Jacob Edwards said. “He sucks it up and can’t wait to get back.”
The coach felt Tripp was missed most in a loss to defending champions Abraham Lincoln on Dec. 14. Brooklyn Collegiate had no answer when things got intense and the Railsplitters made a third-quarter push. It’s usually Tripp’s job to orchestrate the response.
“Jahlil usually settles us down, makes sure we get some good shots,” Edwards said.
Tripp is being patient, but John said there are times his teammates need to tell him to keep his head up. Jacobs believes Tripp’s absence hurts his team in the short term, but will aid them in the long run.
“The experience we get right now is actually going to help us,” Jacobs said. “When Jahlil does come back its only going to make us even stronger.”