Imagine you have the world at your doorstep. A McDonalds All-American at 18 years old, and practically every school in the nation is knocking on the door of your Harlem apartment. You are the latest in a long line of New York City point guards. You are blessed with the game and the head to lead a team to the promised land.
Now imagine that all of this changes.
Imagine that one fateful day, the world as you know it gets turned upside down.
Imagine you're Majestic Mapp.
You traded in your jersey, game shorts and sneakers for a button down shirt, baggy khakis and Timberlands.You have been physically grounded to the role of cheerleader.
For the last two years you have sat, watched and learned. This was the extent of your basketball life. This was the extent of your Virginia Cavalier career. You might have quit. Mapp did not.
He worked even harder.
He spent countless hours trying to overcome the two re-constructive and two arthroscopic surgeries on his knees. Even though he has not played in a real game in over 26 months because of rehab, he still refuses to quit.
"There are days now where I want to take days off, but I tell myself I can't because sooner or later I want to be back to being the best," Mapp said of his recovery process. "I want to be able to say I overcame an injury, and I wasn't mediocre at what I did either.I came back and I was the best.I know my knee is fine, I just have to push through it and get myself back into game shape."
This is Majestic Mapp --the optimism, the will and the determination. Through all of this, Mapp has stayed positive, never letting resentment get the best of him.
"Anger takes its course and makes you do things you don't want to do," he said. "I'm not angry but more agitated, and it's developed a hunger in me that I'm going to overcome this."
However, this attitude is nothing new. Mapp's outlook dates back to high school. If anyone knows the real Mapp, it's Gary Deceasre who coached him at Saint Raymond's High School in New York. Now an assistant with the Richmond Spiders, Deceasre still remains in contact with his standout point guard as he prepares to make his return to the court.
"He has the determination and the will to be the same player he was," Deceasre said. "He's working hard to accomplish that, it takes a lot of self motivation to be able to come back from injuries. I think he's the kind of person that can do that."
For Mapp this return has meant a lot of work. But for the 6-foot-1 inch Mapp, the pot of gold at the end is well worth traveling the long rocky road to recovery.
"I've been taking the bumps and bruises as they come, and just saying to myself [that] sooner or later it will be over and I won't have to ice my knee anymore, I won't have to put heat on it to just get out there and play," he said.
The Mapp that Cavalier fans have become accustomed to over the last two seasons is misleading. Something about Mapp becomes lost. This isn't you're everyday injured player sitting courtside, this was Majic.
"Majic" goes back to Mapp's days at Saint Raymonds. A short walk from the Castle Hill stop on the number six train, the Catholic high school has always been a major player in world of school basketball. In his 13 seasons at the helm of the Ravens, Deceasre has seen a lot of talent go through his Bronx high school -- none quite as compelling as Mapp.
"I wish I had five Majestics on my team every year," Deceasare said. "He was my only player who played four years. He's a winner, he's a great kid and one of those guys who wanted to get better and work hard and continue to better himself, I'd take five Majestics any day, on any level."
Six assists and 16.8 points per game. Back-to-back All-New York City and All-State honors. McDonald's All-American team selection. Third-team Parade All-America. This is clearly not the resume of any ordinary point guard.
Three years ago, Mapp was the big fish that Virginia coach Pete Gillen was able to reel in to Charlottesville. Mapp was the cream of Gillen's Class of 2003 recruiting crop that also included Travis Watson, Roger Mason Jr. and Jason Rogers. Mapp saw action in all 31 Cavalier games, finishing the season second on the team in assists with 69 for the season as well as averaging 5.3 points per game.
"He has a great feel for the game he's the purest point guard we have," Gillen said.
The stage was apparently set for Mapp to spend one more year learning from Donald Hand and then take over the reigns as the Cavaliers starting point guard. However all of that changed one fateful August day.
After a successful 1999-2000 rookie campaign with the Cavaliers, Mapp spent much of his summer at home in New York City. Like many of the alumni of Saint Raymond's High School, Mapp spent parts of his summer at his high school playing pick up games. On one such day, August 2, 2000, Mapp tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. One year and three surgeries later, Mapp's right knee still was not quite right.
"The surgeries were performed, for some reason I couldn't get over the hump," Mapp said.
Alas, Mapp had to go under the knife once again for another reconstructive procedure and another season long spot on the Cavalier bench.
More than two years have gone by. A senior in the classroom, Mapp will be pursuing a Masters degree while still being an undergraduate junior on the basketball court. With a golden opportunity passing by because of a troublesome knee, most anyone would ask "why me?"Not Mapp.
"Not at all, Only God knows why. My mom tells me this everyday that God has a reason for everything," he said. "As long as you know that you can't go wrong."
Although Mapp was not asking why, Gillen and the Cavaliers could have certainly been asking when -- as his presence on the court was sorely missed.
"It was disastrous not having him, the point guard is the most important position on the court," Gillen said of Mapp's absence. "Two years ago we had Donald Hand who lead us to 20 wins.Last year Roger was a great player for us, but his head was spinning."
Last season the point guard spot was the Achilles heel for Virginia. They had the shooters, they had the athletes, they had the size, but their tailspin finish indicated something was missing. Were they missing a poised, floor general? Were they missing the kind of player who would call out someone at practice? Were they missing Majic?
"I know I would have helped in many different ways, whether it's playing the point or just being out there," Mapp said.
"I think he's a terrific leader," Gillen said. "He has a lot of confidence a lot of charisma a lot of nerve. He's not afraid to yell at guys. Majestic brings a lot to the team."
"Majestic has always been a leader," Deceasre said. "He'll bring a lot to the table if he's healthy.
If.
'If he's healthy,' the added little condition that has practically become a part of his name. As the world hoped for his complete recovery, the question of his basketball skills became secondary. But now, as number 11 prepares to make his return, it is a good a time to ask -- can he still ball? Can the man once hailed by Sports Illustrated as one of the finest point guards to ever come out of New York City get back to where he belongs?
His coach thinks so.
"He's confident that he's going to be able to play and we are too," Gillen said. "He's done a lot in the training room now he's got to do a lot on the court.
The basketball court, a place where stutter-steps, crossovers and behind the back dribbles were moves that were once second nature to Mapp all have to be relearned. Two years of not moving have taken what was common and familiar for the Harlem prodigy into something that must be reacquired.
"I've been doing little things like shadowing myself in the mirror," Mapp said. "Little things like that that nobody sees that lets me get my game back and my footwork back. The moves are there, it's just a matter of doing the moves over and over again so I can actually perform the moves because I have to retrain my body all over again."
Regardless, four surgeries haven't taken away Mapp's best attribute, his head. "I've been the type of player that knows when to set other players up as far as being smart to make a move. None of that has left me, I'm still just as smart. If you look at the best player is any sport, from Tiger Woods to Michael Jordan are always smart, they never just win with their physical ability, its their smartness that gets them over."
"It's a day by day thing," Gillen said of Mapp's knee. "Structurally he's fine but just getting used to playing again the wear and tear. Time will tell."
Time.
Time has gone by for Mapp. Four operations and two long years on the sidelines have gone by. However, now is still not the time. After practicing with the team for the upcoming season, Mapp's knee still has not responded as well as the team has hoped. Although there are no structural problems, Mapp still suffers from persistent soreness after working out. This has left him unable to perform at a level necessary for him to contribute on the court yet. Although there is no timetable set for Mapp's return to the court, it is safe to say that we will not see any Majic until around the time when the conference schedule begins.
"Majestic has not responded yet the way we would like. He isn't ready to contribute yet," Gillen said most recently. "He's still not there -- the soreness is still there. Hopefully we'll get him back. Right now he's heartbroken, he can't do what he loves to do."
Alas, Mapp will have to wait a little while longer.New York's finest will once again call Timberlands and khakis his game attire. But the time will come. Mapp will make a return to the court. While the exact date is still unknown, the feeling is quite certain.
"I'll be smiling, a big old heart to heart and a pat on my back to let me know that I've overcame something really difficult," Mapp said. "A lot of people with ACL injuries never come back or never get to play the sport again, so I'm going to be happy that I overcame what I had to overcome and finally put to work my ability and what I can do."
The day is fast approaching. Mapp will return to action for the Cavaliers.
Imagine.
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