Charles City to start season without senior guard Hakeem Sharief

By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — Sometimes the pain comes much later than the injury.

“I didn’t think it was that bad,” Charles City senior guard Hakeem Sharief said about when he “twisted his knee” during an AAU championship basketball game over the summer. “Then I found out I tore my ACL.

“And this is going to be my senior season.”

Sharief came to the Comets last year, and often was a spark off the bench and proved to be an excellent left-handed finisher in the open court.

“I’m just doing a lot of rehabbing right now,” Sharief said. “I plan to be back by January.”

Things could have been worse for the Comets.

For some harrowing moments, it appeared that Cade Hemesath’s senior basketball season was going to be a wash when he went down with a knee injury during the football season.

“I was super scared,” said Hemesath, who decided to return to football his senior year and managed to stretch opposing defenses with his down-field receiving capabilities before his season-ending injury.

Hemesath was the Comets’ leading rebounder last year, and also shot 50 percent from the floor while averaging 15.8 points per game.

“It turned out just being a strain to my MCL,” Hemesath said, “but when it happened, I thought my senior year was ruined.”

Senior Mike Cranshaw, who has been a starting guard for the Comets since his sophomore year, also took some lumps this past football season when he took over as the starting quarterback.

Both Hemesath and Cranshaw appeared to have shaken off their football injuries enough to play effectively in scrimmages against Waterloo West and Garner-Hayfield/Ventura.