"Bittersweet" was probably the best word that Jamaal Walker could use to muster up his emotions earlier this week.
He didn't celebrate any less than the rest of his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga teammates as they learned they would be traveling to Pittsburgh to face Illinois in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday, but it's just a little different for him.
A blood clot in Walker's leg cut the season short for the 6-foot-5 former East Hamilton standout, so while he's been able to practice with the team, he's been in street clothes on game days.
"It's a little different than I planned it to happen, but it still happened nonetheless," Walker said Sunday. "I'm just really happy to still be very much a part of the team - like I was even before when I was playing.
"It's still very exciting though. I can't stop smiling."
He admitted that there were times that he broke down, struggling with the news that his season was over. He doesn't know former Tennessee football standout Trey Smith, who dealt with the same condition, but is aware and saw how the Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman has recovered and said, "he gives me hope."
"I feel way better now," Walker said. "I couldn't walk at first and it was just really scary and I didn't know anything about it. The hardest part was knowing that's what it was after they told me, because in my mind I thought it was a calf sprain or something.
"Blood clots is not something you first think of when they diagnose your injury."
But Walker hasn't stopped enjoying this ride, even though it's at a seat he didn't plan on sitting in. As the Moc players were cutting down the nets after the dramatic 64-63 win over Furman in last week's championship game, he made his way over to UTC head coach Lamont Paris just to thank him for the opportunity to be a part of what has been a special season.
"It was such a genuine expression of gratitude for a guy that's been through some stuff," Paris said. "He was back in the mix, ready to play and was playing for us this season, and then he's sidelined for the rest of the year, and it's hard for a guy at that age to have that positive of an outlook on a situation that's not ideal and one you had no control over. All this stuff is good for all of our young guys, but Jamaal soaks it up. He's an incredible learner in that he's a sponge and wants to take everything in.
"No other player that I've ever coached has been as attentive to what I say to him - whether I'm telling a joke or telling a story that he's probably heard two or three times - this guy is locked into what I say because he's so interested in learning and how it can affect and help him get better. It's been good for him and it will pay dividends in the future as he continues to grow."
Walker has played in 34 career games, including all 26 in the 2020-21 season with eight starts. But due to a redshirt year his first season, the 2020-21 season not counting towards a player's eligibility due to COVID-19 and the likelihood of him receiving a medical redshirt this year, he will be a fourth-year freshman entering the 2022-23 campaign.
It's currently hard to envision just what the program could look like when he returns to full action. The rock-star nature currently surrounding this group - with camera crews at every turn - likely won't remain, but most importantly, he'll be back.
"I'm just very excited," he said. "I was talking with Grant (Ledford) and it's like, 'We're living the dream.' This is a once in a lifetime-type thing, especially with the city of Chattanooga and everybody rooting for us. We're just embracing it, more people coming up to us.
"You've just got to take it in. I don't look forward, I just live in the moment because you never know if this is going to happen again."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.