Ethan Roberts’ impressive return from a ‘severe’ concussion was exactly what Penn needed

Five weeks ago, Ethan Roberts struggled to walk.

Reading was tough, and staying focused on even simple things proved difficult.

But on Saturday, in only his second game back from what was described weeks earlier as a “severe” concussion, Penn’s captain scored 28 points to help the Quakers secure their first Ivy League win of the season over Brown, 81-73.

Penn now enjoys a week before its next Ivy League test at Dartmouth on Saturday (3 p.m., ESPN+).

The Drake transfer started the season on top of the world, reaching as high as third in the nation in scoring while leading Penn to its first Big 5 Classic championship game against Villanova.

But in that matchup, disaster struck.

A hard foul resulted in Roberts leaving Xfinity Mobile Area before the final buzzer, being taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

“I know it happened, obviously, but I don’t remember getting hit,” Roberts said. “I lost memory from that day. I got hit and gained consciousness in the emergency room before my CAT scans.”

Penn was eventually blown out by Villanova, and Roberts was released from the hospital early the next morning after doctors confirmed there was no bleeding in his brain. The team went 2-2 in the subsequent four games he missed.

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As the Quakers attempted to stay afloat without their captain, Roberts was busy working back from his injury.

“I’ve never had a concussion before,” Roberts said. “The doctor told me that it was a severe one, and that it would take a while. For two weeks, I had every symptom at its worst. I was extremely sensitive to light, extremely sensitive to noise, I had really bad headaches and eye pain, and more so than anything, I couldn’t read and lost memory. I was helpless, I had to have someone around me, so for two weeks I was in a cocoon.”

Over Christmas break, Roberts attended vestibular therapy at Penn Medicine in which he relearned to read while battling coordination issues, including practicing walking in a straight line.

After more than four weeks of recovery, Roberts was given only three days to prepare for his team’s Ivy League opener vs. Princeton, when much of his time was spent working through non-contact and contact practices while still impacted by symptoms. Roberts reported an inability to remember plays and problems with his hand-eye coordination.

“Even just my hand control,” Roberts said before facing off against Princeton. “I’ve had to revamp everything, not to be dramatic. Sometimes, I’m out there playing, and it just doesn’t calibrate in my head.

“I was out for a month. Missing games I really wanted to play in, too, but it makes me want to savor the moment a little bit more and enjoy it a little bit more, truthfully, because when I’m not wearing Penn across my chest, it’s going to hurt.”

Against the Tigers, Roberts led the team in scoring with 19 points, but with the Quakers down two during the waning moments of the game, he passed away the final shot in the 78-76 loss.

“He just has to get back in rhythm,” coach Fran McCaffery said. “He missed five weeks, so he’s trying to remember the plays. He’s trying to remember where he goes … but when I’m making calls, you can tell he’s a little slow registering sometimes.”

Against Brown, Roberts once again found that rhythm, ending the first half by scoring eight of his team’s last nine points to pull the game to a 42-42 tie. At the end of the second half, Roberts scored 10 of the team’s last 14 points to secure a narrow win.

Roberts’ physical play led to 14 free-throw attempts despite only sitting for five minutes in the contest, a huge step forward in his recovery. When McCaffery was asked about Roberts still dealing with mental blocks after the game, he was happy to poke fun at his star player.

“He’s one of the best scorers, if not the best scorer, in the league, probably in the country,” McCaffery said. “It takes the pressure off everyone else. [His brain] can’t be that fuzzy. He had 28 points; tell him [BS].”

Despite still not feeling back to his normal self, Roberts is grateful to be able to keep playing in his final year at Penn. This isn’t the first time Roberts has dealt with serious injuries, having suffered from an undisclosed illness that forced him to medically redshirt at Drake — but with every roadblock, Penn’s captain has only felt more grateful to be a Quaker.

“It means everything,” Roberts said. “Just to wear Penn across your chest and to represent these people, it’s serious. It’s the best honor I’ve ever had in my life, and to win in front of them, it doesn’t get old. I’m just super grateful to be here wearing Penn, like I said, getting this win at the most historic venue in college basketball — the cathedral, baby.”

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