Injury was bump in the road for Miami Hurricanes women's hoops standout Destiny Harden: Playing for UM "means everything"
For forward Destiny Harden, playing basketball at the University of Miami is a blessing.
A blessing that was almost taken away from her.
The graduate student suffered a severe knee injury just before the start of her redshirt senior season in 2021-22 that had both team doctors and Destiny fearing the worst.
“Some days I didn’t even know if I was able to play basketball again,” Harden said. “Some days I couldn’t even run, some days I couldn’t even jump, so it’s just like ‘how am I meant to play basketball without those abilities?’”
Harden was a crucial part of Miami’s team prior to the injury. She was one of the leading scorers going into last season, averaging nearly 11 points per game for the Hurricanes. Her biggest impact was in the team’s locker room.
Head coach Katie Meier described Harden as “everyone’s favorite teammate”, the heart and soul of the team. When last season’s first game was just around the corner, Harden wanted to put the team first.
She didn’t disclose the severity of her knee injury. Her teammates knew that she was injured, but had no idea how long she would be out for.
Nobody knew what Harden was going through, from team insiders, to fans, to even her own teammates. Everybody was kept in the dark.
“I never wanted them to really know that ‘oh, I’m going through something’,” Harden said. “At the end of the day, they had games to win, and my hard times shouldn’t be their hard times, you know?”
Harden was already an extremely respected teammate before this situation, but after learning what she went to, teammates – like guard Karla Erjavec – commended her bravery.
“She was really a great teammate doing that,” Erjavec said. “She had to take a lot of that on herself, and I really admire that from her.”
Harden made her return last season against Wake Forest with the Hurricanes sitting with a record of 7-4 and struggling in Atlantic Coast Conference play. When Harden returned to the court, the energy changed. The Hurricanes would win 14 of their final 23 games, including going to their first-ever ACC Championship game.
Harden’s return gave her teammates the boost they needed to have a strong second half of the season.
“She was just so excited to play, and that made everybody else so excited to have her back,” Erjavec said. “Just seeing her happy, playing the game she loved was so lifting for all of us.”
Harden has been Miami’s second leading scorer behind Haley Cavinder since returning, averaging 12.3 points this season. She recently recorded her fourth double-double since returning in Miami’s 59-54 victory against the Clemson Tigers. The team currently sits with a 17-10 record, 10-6 in ACC play, with regular season games remaining at Louisville and vs. Virginia.
Harden has been the voice of the team since getting back on the court, and playing for her teammates is exactly what Harden loves.
“Being able to, you know, play with them, win with them, and play for them, it means everything,” Harden said. “Miami has turned me into a better person.”
For forward Destiny Harden, playing basketball at the University of Miami is a blessing.
A blessing for which this graduate student will forever be thankful.
