- Log in to post comments
By: Kate Harman
With two minutes remaining in the first quarter of a pivotal conference match-up, Jordan Vitelli rushed to a ball that was seconds from landing out of bounds. She quickly grabbed it and passed it off, giving her University of the Sciences women’s basketball team a second-chance opportunity.
That same Vitelli, 20, rushed to save an errant pass that seemed bound for a backcourt violation in the second quarter, drove endline to lay it in just before the half, and hit the go-ahead three pointer midway through the third.
Routine basketball plays - maybe some that require a little more hustle or effort than others - but still routine.
The diving after loose balls and fighting for rebounds starts to look a little less routine once you know that Vitelli suffers from compartment syndrome in her legs and has since high school.
It started out as shin splints, or at least that’s what they thought.
That was her freshman season at Central Bucks South.
Then her sophomore year she suffered a stress fracture to her left tibia, an injury she came back from but the pain persisted.
By the time it was 2015 and she was a high-scoring junior making waves for the Titans, the Warrington native saw a specialist who referred her to Drexel Sports Medicine to undergo a pressure test. Resting pressure rates in an individual’s shins should be lower than 15 but Vitelli’s were 32 and 28.
The numbers confirmed it. Vitelli had compartment syndrome.
The diagnosis - after so much uncertainty - was a relief for the guard.
“For years it was a diagnosis and then that didn’t help - a diagnosis and it didn’t help,” Vitelli said. “Then when I found out it was compartment syndrome, it felt like ‘Finally, I’m going to have surgery and everything is going to be good’.”
At least, that’s what she thought.
Vitelli had a fasciotomy in May of 2016 but the pain returned and so she underwent the procedure again almost exactly a year later.
Neither worked, as the pressure in her legs climbed each time after the recovery process.
After an ultrasound and MRI her doctor explained that she suffered from popliteal artery entrapment (PAES), a vascular disease impacting the tendons near the knee.
And so now, Vitelli, who strongly considered attending Penn State to study nursing instead of playing the game at the collegiate level, spends every minute on the floor in pain. So strongly, in fact, that coach Jackie Hartzell had stopped recruiting her, thinking her decision had already been made.
“It has honestly become second nature - feeling in pain is just normal to me now,” Vitelli said. “But I couldn’t imagine not playing. I know Jackie [Hartzell] would be okay with that decision if my pain was too bad - she’s talked to me about it. I really couldn’t have gotten luckier with a better coach.
“But I couldn’t imagine not being able to step on the court,” the junior added. “I don’t think I could ever make that choice.”
Despite her level of discomfort and minute restrictions that mean she usually stays on the floor for only two minutes at a time, Vitelli has started all 16 games this season for the 15-1 nationally ranked Devils.
“It’s frustrating when you want to be in there,” Vitelli said. “Every player wants to play whether your team is up 30 or down 5, so it is frustrating, sitting.
“Everyone has something,” she added. “This is just the thing I have to deal with.”
She is making the most of her time on the floor, averaging 11 points - good enough for third on the team in scoring - and 4 rebounds in about 21 minutes of play.
“You definitely would never know that she’s hurt. She gives it 110% every time she is out on the court,” Hartzell said. “She’s diving all over the place for loose balls. She’s taking charges. The one thing about Jordan is that she’s become so much more than just a shooter since her college career started. She does so much of the dirty work. It just goes to her toughness and her competitiveness. She just wants to win.”
In 120-second increments on the basketball court, you may see Vitelli take a charge. You may see her bail out a teammate who didn’t pass it quite where she should have. And yes, you may even see her shoot lights out from beyond the three-point line just like she did in high school.
For her, it’s all just a part of the game, just like playing with compartment syndrome.
It’s routine.
@Ka_Harman