Mizzou Guard Caleb Grill Responsive After Scary Neck Injury

Tiger head coach Dennis Gates spoke on Grill's injury and the precautions taken with it after Missouri's matchup with Lindenwood.

Nov 25, 2023; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Caleb Grill (31) shoots during the second half against the Loyola (Md) Greyhounds at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

COLUMBIA, Mo. —  The Missouri Tigers experienced a scare early in the first half of its game against the Lindenwood Lions when guard Caleb Grill had to be carried out on a stretcher after taking an elbow to his neck while going up for a rebound.

Grill remained on the court for minutes before being lifted onto a stretcher and giving fans a thumbs-up as he was wheeled off the court. Grill was responsive on the court and able to talk to head coach Dennis Gates in the minutes after suffering the injury.

"To my knowledge, he was responsive with us leaving this arena with his thumbs up, running out and again, precaution is the err we're going to always take when you get an elbow in the back of the neck [and] head area,” Gates said.

#Mizzou's Caleb Grill, in the center, appears to have his neck snapped back while going for a rebound.
They're putting Grill on a back board and taking him off on a stretcher pic.twitter.com/8cuy7oW0ef

— Ben Arnet (@BenArnetKOMU) November 27, 2024

Gates was then taken to the hospital and underwent a CT scan for what Gates called a "precautionary" decision.

Grill entered Wednesday’s game as Missouri’s leading scorer, averaging 15.5 points on the season. Grill recorded a career-high with 33 points against Eastern Washington on Nov. 11, shooting 8-for-10 on three-point attempts. In the early stages of the game against Lindenwood, Grill scored two points on a jumper. He played only seven minutes before exiting the game with an injury.

Even with one of their captains going down, Missouri was unruffled. While Gates was on the court talking to Grill, the veterans in the huddle set the tone Gates was hoping for.

“At the end of the day, our guys are veterans and they stuck together,” Gates said. “They did exactly what I thought they would do. They rallied around and obviously, once it took it started to take a little bit longer, that's when I got up and our assistant and our staff were able to fill in for me.”

Senior guard Tamar Bates was one of those veterans who stepped up, both in the huddle and on the court. He had an off night in terms of scoring, but his leadership was important after Grill exited.

“Credit Tamar Bates, he didn't have the best night, but he did a great job coaching and taking this up for the guys who was out there,” senior Warrick said.

To nobody's surprise, Grill has the support of his teammates. The status of Grill's injury, as of now, remains unknown. Gates and the Tigers, in some capacity, plan on checking on on their teammate.

“No one likes to see their teammate go down,” Gates said. “In fact, we'll go over there and check on him and make sure everything's okay.”

In the moment with Grill on the court in pain with the medical staff and Mizzou Arena quiet in disbelief, Gates kneeled alongside Grill in an attempt to calm him. At that point in the situation, according to Gates, the basketball doesn't matter anymore, only the well-being of his player.

“Whenever you have a situation like that, you just want to you don't think about the game, you don't think about anything else,” Gates said. “Just make sure your student-athletes are ok.”

Mizzou Arena needed some juice to bring it to life after Grill's injury. That responsibility falls on the five Missouri Tigers on the court and was one that was challenging on a Wednesday night for Missouri.

“We just try to stay together, regardless of what situation we’re in and try to bring energy, regardless [of] who's in the game or who's not playing,” senior guard Tony Perkins said. “Try to generate energy so everybody can get going.”

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