It's been a rough road for former Boise State basketball player Coby Karl, son of Denver Nuggets coach George Karl. The younger Karl, 23, had his thyroid removed 13 months ago due to papillary carcinoma, a treatable form of cancer. And he returned to the operating room just last week for the removal of cancerous lymph nodes.Karl's recent surgery, intended to take two to three hours, lasted for seven hours. This worried Dad.
''When it goes longer and longer, you always think the worst, and start worrying about things like being under anesthesia that long and all the nightmares you have about surgeries,'' George Karl said.
But it turns out Coby was just fine -- doctors just wanted to be thorough -- and the ambitious young man plans to play ball as soon as possible.Coby is expected to remain inactive for 10 days to two weeks. But after that, he is free to do whatever he wants. And what the 6-foot-4 guard wants to do is start working out in hopes of getting drafted by an NBA team.
''He is anxious to get into the NBA thing and celebrate basketball by trying to make it in this league,'' his dad says.
Denver Nuggets coach George Karl missed his team's match-up against the Lakers Tuesday night so he could spend some quality time with his son, Coby, who had surgery for the removal of cancerous lymph nodes on Monday.
Boise State basketball player Coby Karl, son of Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, had surgery 13 months ago to remove his thyroid after he was diagnosed with papillary carcinoma, a form of treatable cancer. And while Karl received chemotherapy to kill off any lingering cancer cells, he must undergo cancer surgery once again.
