It felt like someone had kicked her in the back of the ankle, but when she turned around there was no one there.

On the receiving end was Ohio State guard Brandie Hoskins and the invisible kick came in the form of a ruptured Achilles’ tendon.

“If you watch the film you can see me turn around,” Hoskins said. “I was checkin’ to see who kicked me.”

As the seconds trickled off the clock during last year’s NCAA tournament second-round loss to Boston College, Hoskins pondered her basketball future.

“I fell down, and I tried to get up but I knew I couldn’t walk,” Hoskins said. “I didn’t know anything about my Achilles, but when they told me that, I was thinking I wouldn’t be playing for a long time.”

Before March had even ended, just a week after the season finale, Hoskins was in and out of surgery and on the long, painful path to recovery.

“[Coming back] was hard. I was in rehab every day of the spring and summer,” she said. “I was on crutches for 14 weeks and spent a lot of time in the swimming pool … just a whole lot of stuff every day.”

The injury could have forced Hoskins down one of two paths. One involved getting back on the horse and the other led to a senior season filled with tentative play and disappointment.

The latter was never even an option as she has busted out of the gates this season without even a limp.

With the exception of 72-51 setback at No. 9LSU, the No. 6 Buckeyes (7-1) have handily beaten every team they’ve played in the young season, with Hoskins averaging 18 points a game while doling out 28 assists in her past six contests.

In a 77-43 win over Cornell, Hoskins poured in 19 points and six assists. Against Montana she finished with 17 points and a game-high eight assists. It was a weekend that might not have seemed possible at the end of last season.

Ironically enough, an injury to the old wheel may have been just the remedy for a player that head coach Jim Foster said had some issues with tempo.

“I thought Brandie played a terrific game,” Foster said after the Buckeyes won their own Klosterman Buckeye Classic a few weeks ago. “She (plays) at a nice tempo. She made some plays but she wasn’t in a hurry. I hope some of the younger guards were watching.”
Even Hoskins agreed that letting the game come to her has produced better results.

“Sometimes I come out too fast and anxious and make turnovers and stuff like that,” Hoskins said.

Although she is slowing the tempo a bit, Hoskins still gets out and runs the floor, scoring a share of points in transition.

Just five minutes into a game three weeks ago against Montana, teammate Marscilla Packer grabbed a rebound on the base line and tossed a Troy Smith-esque pass the length of the court to a streaking Hoskins for the uncontested layup.

The two points extended the lead to 22-5 and the game was essentially over.

“I think that kind of stuff is just chemistry.” Hoskins said. “Pack knows if she throws the ball and I can catch it, I’ll catch it.”

Plays like that that make it obvious that her injury hasn’t changed the way she plays the game, but it definitely has had an impact on how she approaches it.

Injuries can sometimes end careers but for the lucky ones who get a second chance, it can reshape it.

“My injury helped me realize not to take things for granted,” she said. “It helped me mentally, and this year we’ve got five freshmen and I want them to be able to look at me as a positive role model on and off the court.”