Jan 31, 2003

By JENNA FRYER
AP Sports Writer

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The past three weeks have been nothing but milkshakes, soup and silence for Justin Gray.

He can handle that.

The hardest part for the Wake Forest freshman is sitting quietly on the bench, unable to help his team or even cheer through the wires that hold his broken jaw together.

"Sitting on the bench you see something and you can't tell anyone, not the coaches, not teammates, not even the managers. I mean nobody," said Gray, e-mailing his answers for an interview. "They'll tell me to do what everybody else tells me to do: 'Write it down, I don't understand you."'

Gray was leading the 17th-ranked Demon Deacons (14-2) in assists at four a game and averaging 10.5 points when he ran into a screen by Duke's Dahntay Jones on Jan. 12. Not only was his jaw broken, he cut his tongue and lip, and his mouth has been wired shut since.

"This has to be one of the worst injuries to have," he said. "I really can deal with not eating or talking, but not playing and watching - now that's hard."

There's no timetable for Gray, one of Wake's many talented underclassmen, to return to the lineup. The Deacons have done well without him, going 4-1 entering Sunday's game against North Carolina.

Even when he is cleared to play again, the side effects could slow his return. He estimates he's lost 20 pounds from his 180-pound body because he can take in food only through a straw.

Wake Forest's Justin Gray cheers after a teammate hit a three-point shot as he watches Wake Forest's 81-72 win over Maryland Jan. 15.

Milkshakes have become his favorite food, and some days he slurps down 10 of them as his only nourishment. The guilty pleasure helps him, especially when watching his teammates gorging on pre-game steaks and other solid foods.

"At first, I would see the team eating and just want to take all the food and throw it away, but now it doesn't matter to me," he said. "The food that I miss the most would have to be steak. The first thing I will eat will be a big bag of gummy worms. For some reason I've been wanting them since I've broken my jaw."

He has almost perfected a mumble that his family and friends can understand, and so far he's only been called on in class once. He responded by writing his answer on the board.

But he hasn't been able to do much physically and only was cleared to run and lift weights earlier this week. He's not permitted to do a full workout until his jaw heals.

Still, Gray believes he'll be just fine when cleared to play.

"Once I get the wires off I hope to be in practice the next day getting ready for the next game," he said. "You won't see me backing down from anything at all, not even a screen.

"And if the time is running out, you will still see me going to get the ball and trying to make a play like I was doing when I was out there."