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Grand Canyon University Athletics
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Xzavierro rebuilds body, rises for return
11/1/2023 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
GCU forward's 7-week hospital scare led to 9-month road back to playing
Three days after his release from seven weeks in the hospital, Derrick Michael Xzavierro was handed 5-pound dumbbells last February for shoulder lateral raises that would feel like lifting toothpicks to him last November or this November.
But after suffering a collapsed lung with complications that required two surgeries and stripped 40 pounds off his body, the Grand Canyon forward was faced with rebuilding his body over the past nine months to be back on the court and in uniform this season.
A 6-foot-10 frame that had withered to 187 pounds has been toned and bulked to 228 pounds. It is not as long of a way as Indonesia's first Division I scholarship basketball player took to GCU to make history, but the road from 135-pound deadlifts to 400-pound deadlifts felt nearly as long as that 9,000-mile, Jakarata-to-Phoenix trek.
"When I wake up in the morning, I feel blessed," Xzavierro said. "I thank God. I'm still here, so it's amazing for me."
Less than four months after arriving at GCU, Xzavierro was having difficulty breathing on a December afternoon in his campus apartment when teammates Isaiah Shaw and Gabe McGlothan tried and researched remedies to no avail. It seemed as though food was lodged, but his condition did not improve at the campus health center and had worsened when athletic trainer Chris Elliott made the call to take him to the emergency room.
Half of Xzavierro's right lung collapsed. Upon being diagnosed and treated, that normally could mean hospitalization for a matter of days, a week at most. Xzavierro's lungs never responded normally to customary surgery and the mystifying seven-week stay was underway until a national call of thoracic surgeons led to a remedy of fungal medication.
"His spirit was super inspiring," Elliott said of Xzavierro, who had a turnstile of teammates and basketball staffers visiting his hospital room.
Upon returning to GCU in time for the team's WAC Tournament championship and NCAA tournament appearance, Xzavierro began workouts with unreasonable earnest.
"He expected to be the same as before he got hurt," Lopes associate director of sports performance Jordan Jackson said. "I had to slow him down. But other than that, I had to get him to understand that he just missed three months, and you have to build back to where you were.
"It was really frustrating for him. Me and his teammates had to keep reminding him that he came back from a major injury that was low-key life-threatening."
The rebuild also was a challenge for Jackson, who was accustomed to players' sprains and fractures and also was working with Jovan Blacksher Jr. coming off knee surgery.
"It's a lot of mental," Jackson said. "Some days, I didn't know what to tell him. Usually, I know what to say to these kids to keep them calm or pump them up. There's only so many times you can be, 'You're gonna be good.' "
But Jackson already had made "DMX" fall in love with workouts in the basketball team's arena weight room. Xzavierro's body was transforming before the health scare, and his expectations were high because he wants to deliver for the world's fourth-largest nation and GCU.
"I'm the one who wanted to get back fast," said Xzavierro, who initially wore long-sleeved shirts to hide his skinny frame and arranged workout times to not miss watching practices. "I was energetic, like, 'I wanna play, I wanna play.' I was learning when I was off the court. When I got on the court, I was ready to do what the coach wanted me to do."
Xzavierro resumed five-on-five play in August. He was more weary of eating or drinking at times than absorbing midsection contact from teammates.
With another season arriving this month, he gets a reboot as a redshirt freshman.
"It was an extremely tough year for Derrick," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "He was in the hospital a lot and lost 40-some pounds. For hi
m just to be able to put on a basketball uniform and go out and play will be really rewarding for him. He'll look at basketball through a different lens and just be thankful that he can even go out there and dress and run and compete."
When Xzavierro gets his on-court opportunities, the GCU teammates who experienced an emotional high with him as WAC Tournament champions will get another joyous peak to see the fruition of his arduous journey.
"The relationship we had helped him believe he was going to be all right," Jackson said. "I love this kid. He's a great kid, and he's over here by himself. I'm so supportive of him. I get on him. I yell at him. But he knows it's because I care about him. I really want to see him succeed. I want to see him get an opportunity and make the most of it."
An unexpected first-year experience has revealed a second family at GCU, where his mother, Eva, was comforted by the support system for her and her son on multiple, long visits. His teammates, particularly Isaiah Shaw, have become brothers who he gets to share a new experience – playing a college basketball game.
"It's going to be crazy," Xzavierro said. "I feel great. I feel like I want to compete, and I want to get better than before.
"When I was in the my zero, down position, I was down, down and all these GCU people – students too – helped me to get back. It's kind of like a family to me."
To read more about Xzavierro's medical ordeal last winter, click here.
To watch Xzavierro's journey from Indonesia to his first GCU year, click here.
But after suffering a collapsed lung with complications that required two surgeries and stripped 40 pounds off his body, the Grand Canyon forward was faced with rebuilding his body over the past nine months to be back on the court and in uniform this season.
A 6-foot-10 frame that had withered to 187 pounds has been toned and bulked to 228 pounds. It is not as long of a way as Indonesia's first Division I scholarship basketball player took to GCU to make history, but the road from 135-pound deadlifts to 400-pound deadlifts felt nearly as long as that 9,000-mile, Jakarata-to-Phoenix trek."When I wake up in the morning, I feel blessed," Xzavierro said. "I thank God. I'm still here, so it's amazing for me."
Less than four months after arriving at GCU, Xzavierro was having difficulty breathing on a December afternoon in his campus apartment when teammates Isaiah Shaw and Gabe McGlothan tried and researched remedies to no avail. It seemed as though food was lodged, but his condition did not improve at the campus health center and had worsened when athletic trainer Chris Elliott made the call to take him to the emergency room.
Half of Xzavierro's right lung collapsed. Upon being diagnosed and treated, that normally could mean hospitalization for a matter of days, a week at most. Xzavierro's lungs never responded normally to customary surgery and the mystifying seven-week stay was underway until a national call of thoracic surgeons led to a remedy of fungal medication."His spirit was super inspiring," Elliott said of Xzavierro, who had a turnstile of teammates and basketball staffers visiting his hospital room.
Upon returning to GCU in time for the team's WAC Tournament championship and NCAA tournament appearance, Xzavierro began workouts with unreasonable earnest.
"He expected to be the same as before he got hurt," Lopes associate director of sports performance Jordan Jackson said. "I had to slow him down. But other than that, I had to get him to understand that he just missed three months, and you have to build back to where you were.
"It was really frustrating for him. Me and his teammates had to keep reminding him that he came back from a major injury that was low-key life-threatening."The rebuild also was a challenge for Jackson, who was accustomed to players' sprains and fractures and also was working with Jovan Blacksher Jr. coming off knee surgery.
"It's a lot of mental," Jackson said. "Some days, I didn't know what to tell him. Usually, I know what to say to these kids to keep them calm or pump them up. There's only so many times you can be, 'You're gonna be good.' "
But Jackson already had made "DMX" fall in love with workouts in the basketball team's arena weight room. Xzavierro's body was transforming before the health scare, and his expectations were high because he wants to deliver for the world's fourth-largest nation and GCU.
"I'm the one who wanted to get back fast," said Xzavierro, who initially wore long-sleeved shirts to hide his skinny frame and arranged workout times to not miss watching practices. "I was energetic, like, 'I wanna play, I wanna play.' I was learning when I was off the court. When I got on the court, I was ready to do what the coach wanted me to do."Xzavierro resumed five-on-five play in August. He was more weary of eating or drinking at times than absorbing midsection contact from teammates.
With another season arriving this month, he gets a reboot as a redshirt freshman.
"It was an extremely tough year for Derrick," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "He was in the hospital a lot and lost 40-some pounds. For hi
m just to be able to put on a basketball uniform and go out and play will be really rewarding for him. He'll look at basketball through a different lens and just be thankful that he can even go out there and dress and run and compete."When Xzavierro gets his on-court opportunities, the GCU teammates who experienced an emotional high with him as WAC Tournament champions will get another joyous peak to see the fruition of his arduous journey.
"The relationship we had helped him believe he was going to be all right," Jackson said. "I love this kid. He's a great kid, and he's over here by himself. I'm so supportive of him. I get on him. I yell at him. But he knows it's because I care about him. I really want to see him succeed. I want to see him get an opportunity and make the most of it."
An unexpected first-year experience has revealed a second family at GCU, where his mother, Eva, was comforted by the support system for her and her son on multiple, long visits. His teammates, particularly Isaiah Shaw, have become brothers who he gets to share a new experience – playing a college basketball game."It's going to be crazy," Xzavierro said. "I feel great. I feel like I want to compete, and I want to get better than before.
"When I was in the my zero, down position, I was down, down and all these GCU people – students too – helped me to get back. It's kind of like a family to me."
To read more about Xzavierro's medical ordeal last winter, click here.
To watch Xzavierro's journey from Indonesia to his first GCU year, click here.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
F
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