GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The first of November, 2021, is a date Nike Sibande will never forget.
All of the potential to still unlock after playing in 14 games after transferring from Miami of Ohio and a full season to look forward to vanished in one moment. He was going to be a pivotal member of that 2021-22 Panthers team after starting eight of those games the season prior and with the team losing its top three scorers.
But Sibande was unable to minimally get started. A torn ACL in his right knee sustained in Pitt's first exhibition against Gannon University on that first day of November in 2021 forced him to miss what could have been a breakout season.
Fast-forward 491 days, and all of Sibande's perseverance and rehabilitation work was officially validated. He was named the ACC Sixth Man of the Year as a part of a resurgent Pitt team Monday.
"It's amazing," Sibande told me Tuesday after Pitt's 89-81 win over Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament in Greensboro. "First off, I just want to say thank you to the ACC for giving me that award. It means a lot. Perseverance over these past couple of years for me, it's been a long road. It's just amazing that they recognized me for that, and I appreciate it dearly."
A lengthy surgery and rehab process which notoriously takes a roundabout of a year to come back from thus began Nov. 2, 2021, with an MRI which revealed the ACL tear. Sibande earned clearance to play in late September, less than one year after that fact.
All Sibande did was become the first Pitt player to win an individual ACC player award since it joined the league. He scored in double figures in 15 of 31 regular-season games, and Pitt went 12-3 in those games. He averaged 10 points in road games and shot 42% from 3-point range in such games. He was Pitt's first substitute off the bench in all regular-season games which he did not start.
Sibande earned 47 of 75 votes to run away with the Sixth Man of the Year award. No other player achieved more than eight votes.
"My grinding process started when I first stepped on campus in a Pittsburgh jersey," Sibande said, "but when I tore my ACL it was like a whole reset. After that year, it was like, I'm building it back up throughout this whole year, and I'm still building it back up. It's been a constant grind, and I'm going to continue to fight."
Along the way, Sibande helped create a handful of the memorable moments which has helped lift Pitt back into national prominence and become a contender for an at-large spot in the NCAA Tournament. There were days in which he shouldered the load in scoring and was a primary factor in willing Pitt to a win, but no moment was more memorable than his lock-down defense in stopping North Carolina's Caleb Love from hoisting a potential game-winning 3 in the final seconds of Pitt's win at North Carolina Feb. 1.
While he has been along this ride and creating these moments, Sibande -- still -- is working on getting his knee to where it needs to be. The support of his teammates, Jeff Capel, and the support staff has gone miles for his recovery process.
"Getting it better, getting it stronger, and getting my knee stronger," Sibande added. "Getting it back 100 percent. ... They've been amazing. The team's been amazing. Coach has been amazing in supporting me. It's just been a good year all around."
But there goes to mention the hardships that come along with having to miss 10 months of working out, practicing, and playing while having to sit on the sideline and watch.
There was never a doubt in Sibande's mind he would make the recovery and get back to basketball, but once the healing process began, he was ready to tackle it at full force.
"The hardest part for me was probably just the mental aspect of getting over it," Sibande said. "I never dealt with a major injury like an ACL so from Day 1 after I got my surgery, I would say that was my hardest, but right after I got over that hump, it was an easy road, for sure.
"I embraced every single second of it. The ups and the downs, the grind, I'm a fighter so I embraced every single step through it. There were tough days, but my favorite part through this journey has just been being around these guys and winning."
Sibande has also been a prime example of this year's no-ego attitude employed by the Panthers.
Sibande had his own moment in displaying that when was on his way to posting a season-high 21 points in Pitt's first win over Georgia Tech in Atlanta Jan. 14. With Greg Elliott struggling to find his shot in that game, Capel wanted to start Sibande in Elliott's place to begin the second half, in which the Panthers were returning to the floor with a slim, 38-34 cushion for a lead.
Sibande said nay. He lobbied to keep Elliott in with the usual rotation of starters. He scored just six of his 21 points in the final 20 minutes, but he worked to grab all six of his rebounds from that game over that stretch.
After that game, SIbande talked about him fulfilling his role as the team's sixth man.
Nobody in this league did that better.
But, he would admit there is still work to do. As mentioned above, he is still "getting it back 100 percent" in terms of his knee's strength recovery. It does not necessarily affect his shot -- as evidenced throughout the season -- but some players just do not return as the same post-surgery, compared to what they were prior to it.
Unquestionably so, those 491 days were spent fighting to get basketball back into his life. With this postseason run being his last run as a Panther, Sibande, an Indianapolis native, will continue to work on himself as a player to set himself up for what ever the future might hold.
"I've still been fighting it," Sibande said. "You know, it's been up and down for me. It hasn't been just amazing. This has probably been the toughest year I've had in basketball yet. It's a consistent grind, man, and I'm going to continue to get better and do better for sure. It's nothing for me, man. I really block out the outside noise. I know what I'm capable of and I know what I can do. I don't really listen too much to the outside noise. I know who I am and I know what I'm capable of doing."
