I was Fairfield University on Tuesday to speak with baseball coach John Slosar, who is going to be retiring next spring after 35-plus years with the university when I also bumped into a very familiar face.
Greg Nero.
Yes, Stag Nation, Greg Nero and let me tell you, he looked great.
He told me that he was back to his playing weight – 225 pounds – and had been playing basketball (and dunking all over his brother). He said there have been no ill effects and he is excited as all heck to get back on the floor again.
As for the illness: Nero told me that he had come down with mono while playing during his junior season and he just kept playing. It got so bad in the 2009 MAAC tournament that he doesn’t even remember playing against Manhattan in the quarterfinals, or fouling out, for that matter. That after the game, his heart rate was so high that he went to the hospital. Incredibly, he played in the semis the next night against Siena. But by that point, the virus had completely damaged his immune system and it’s taken these past 18-plus months to recover.
But he has recovered. And he wants to play for Fairfield.
Keep your fingers crossed Stag Nation that Nero can once again put on No. 44. He deserves it.
