By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

If there was any lingering doubt about Eugene Land's determination to complete his comeback from reconstructive knee surgery and two years away from the game, he has erased it during the past 10 days.

Land, a University of Cincinnati forward who is attempting to kick-start his dormant basketball career, twisted his surgically repaired right knee during UC's Nov.9 exhibition game against Northern Kentucky, forcing him from practice just when he was beginning to get back into shape.

While his teammates were on the Shoemaker Center court preparing for the season, Land was downstairs in the weight room riding a stationary bike, trying to maintain his conditioning while his knee recovered.

On Tuesday, he returned to practice for the first time in 10 days and participated in the full three hours, right down to the suicide sprints at the end.

"I'm a little winded," he said afterwards. "I haven't been going up and down, but that's one of those things that will come back in a couple of days."

Land, a 6-foot-7, 235-pound senior forward, said the layoff from practice was difficult to endure because "I'm in hell when I'm away from the team."

But the thought of abandoning his comeback never entered his mind. He has come too far and has inched too close to his goal to allow that to happen.

"From the beginning, I knew it would be an uphill battle for awhile," Land said. "It wasn't about quitting. It was about getting to the top of my game. It's going to be a lot of work. It's been a lot of work, and I know I've got a lot of work to do."

Land, 22, has learned a few things about himself since he left UC after the knee surgery.

"I've always loved this place and the game, but now it's got a different perspective to it," Land said. "I'm getting older. I've got to have something to look back on so I can say I actually did something with my life."

The Roger Bacon High School graduate ached to play so badly that he was in contact with several Division II schools before UC coach Bob Huggins told him he would be welcomed back at UC providing his academic situation was in order.

Land jumped at the chance. Now that he has it, he says nothing will force him to let go.

"I can't picture anything making me want to quit," Land said. "My legs would have to get cut off and it would still be hard for me to quit playing because they have prosthetic legs that you can run on now."

That's the kind of determination that assistant coach Andy Kennedy has seen from Land since the day he returned to the UC fold. It's why Kennedy maintained all along that Land was with the Bearcats for the long haul, no matter how many obstacles got in his way.

"He's our most experienced post guy," Kennedy said. "We know he's going to give us minutes when he's physically able. Gene wanted this opportunity too badly to walk away. I would be very surprised if he wasn't with us throughout the course of the year."

There's no way to know how much Land will be able to produce this season. If he can regain his conditioning and persevere through those times when the knee doesn't respond as well as he would like, he could be a major asset along an otherwise inexperienced front line.