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San Marcos senior guard Kaden Gumbs returned for an injury that sideline him for nearly half of San Marcos’ basketball season. Above, Gumbs goes airborne for a bucket against Trinity Christian Academy on Friday inside the “Snake Pit.” Daily Record photo by Gerald Castillo

Rattlers’ Gumbs shows no rust in return from injury

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

If there was any question of whether or not Kaden Gumbs would show any signs of court rust last week quickly went away late in the second quarter in San Marcos’ game against Katy Taylor.

Stealing the ball from the opposing player, Gumbs dribbled through three defenders before lobbing a picture perfect alley oop to teammate Malik Presley before the halftime buzzer.

Needless to say, Gumbs was feeling alright.

“I feel pretty good,” Gumbs said. “I got all the soreness out the first week after practicing last week. I felt better knocking off all the rust as I went.”

In his first game back from injury, Gumbs finished with 11 points against Canutillo with six rebounds and four assists.

Gumbs followed that game with another 11-point game against Magnolia along with three rebounds and eight assists and then a 15-point game against Katy Taylor with six rebounds and seven assists.

During San Marcos’ Fall League game, Gumbs was severely injured during a layup attempt when an opposing player stepped on his foot.

“We were playing Austin High back in October,” Gumbs said. “I went for the layup but I landed wrong. Then the other player stepped on the back of my foot and pushed it into the ground.”

The injury was so severe that Gumbs missed nearly the first half of the San Marcos’ basketball season.

“The doctor said I had a limp sprongs sprain,” Gumbs said. “It put me out for two months.”

Working with the trainers, Gumbs was focused on doing simple exercises in order regain strength back into his foot.

“I worked a lot with my trainers,” Gumbs said. “We did a lot of running and mobility exercises to get that strength back into my foot. It was just basic exercises.”

Whenever Gumbs wasn’t doing drills, he was still helping his teammates out by educating the underclassmen.

“Mentoring the younger guys,” Gumbs said. “We have a sophomore in Cash Good who is currently out with an injury but mentoring him to be the best point guard he could be. Mentoring Zyair [Jolivette] to be more confident in his shot, then continuing to mentor the other players as we move on.”

It’s significant for Gumbs to be that role model for his younger teammates as he wants the San Marcos Rattlers basketball program to become a mainstay within the area.

“It’s very important,” Gumbs said. “It’s generational leadership. We need that and Coach Miller needs that so we just have to continue to help the younger guys out.”

Gumbs and the Rattlers finished out the San Marcos Holiday Classic with a dominant win over No. 2 Addison Trinity Christian Academy Trojans in TAPPS 6A,  76-47, on Friday to win the tournament and improve their record to 23-2 overall.

San Marcos Record

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