Nuggets coach George Karl’s Monday was longer than he wanted, but Wednesday he said all is positive with the status of his son, Coby.
Karl was in Boise, Idaho, as Coby underwent surgery to remove cancerous lymph nodes. It was his second surgery in the past 13 months. The first was to remove a thyroid.
Monday’s procedure was originally predicted to last two or three hours, but instead went six.
“It was a hard day,” Karl said. “Monday I left him at 1:30 p.m. and didn’t see him until 7:30. He was under the knife and in the operating room for almost seven hours. The doctor felt he wanted to do tedious work, and took his time and feels like he got everything.”
According to Karl, Coby’s recovery time will last from 10 days to two weeks “until the stitches heal. Then, after that he’s free to do what he wants to do.”
And what Coby wants to do is play in the NBA. Karl has pushed his son’s worth repeatedly in the media. Coby played in the college DiGiorno NABC All-Star Game in Atlanta on March 30. He is hoping to get an invitation to the NBA predraft camp in Orlando, Fla., on June 4-8.
“But you know, he’s doing great,” said Karl, who returned to Denver on Tuesday night. “He left the hospital (Wednesday) afternoon. He’s still a little sore, but he’s ready to start the recovery and put this behind him.”
Nene wants Suns
Most of the Nuggets have been coy about saying what team they would like to face in the playoffs, but Nene recently made his feelings known.
After Nene was asked about the race for the sixth spot in the Western Conference, he responded by asking who the Nuggets would play if they finished there.
Nuggets center Marcus Camby answered, “San Antonio, yo.”
Nene then replied: “Whew. I’d rather play against Phoenix … Phoenix is better, huh, to play? Better. I’d rather play against Phoenix.”
The Nuggets have played better against the Suns this season, going 1-2 with an average of 115.7 points per game. Against San Antonio, Denver is 0-2 and averages 81.5 points per game with one game left on April 18.
Staff writer Marc J. Spears contributed to this report
