Earned, not given

People can’t talk about Eric Adams without mentioning his athleticism. It’s not hard to see why. 

In a mid-December game, Adams, a 6-foot-7 forward on the Samford University men’s basketball team, corralled an offensive rebound in midair and dunked it in one swift motion. The two-handed jam accounted for only a fraction of Adams’ career-high 17 points.

“When all my shooters shoot it, I know it’s either going in or it’s going to be a close miss,” he said, “so I just try to read it.”

People also can’t talk about Adams without mentioning his character. Its presence is less obvious, but as important, to his success. 

It explains how a player cut from the junior varsity team at Hoover High School evolved into a Division I college walk-on, and it explains how that walk-on persevered through multiple surgeries en route to becoming a critical player in his redshirt senior season. 

“To do what he’s done is not common at all,” Samford head coach Scott Padgett said. “What he’s got, he’s earned. He hasn’t been given anything.” 

Except for a chance. And even that required a combination of fortune and courage. 

As a Hoover junior, Adams was turned away from the JV squad following a tryout. He had not played on the school team his first two years of high school, and his game lacked the polish of other hopefuls. 

Adams may have slipped through the cracks completely had it not been for his physical education teacher, varsity boys basketball coach Charles Burkett, who recognized Adams’ potential during pickup games in class. Burkett had not overseen the JV selection process and was unaware that Adams had been passed over. 

When Burkett found out, he invited Adams to join the program. He accepted. 

“He was long and talented,” Burkett said. “When he came to us, he got better and better.”

Adams played JV his junior year and varsity his senior year. He then opted to attend Samford, where his mother, Cassandra, teaches in the law school. He did not intend to play collegiately, but, at the urging of his father, Eric Adams Sr., he mustered the courage to approach Samford's coaching staff about participating in a tryout. 

“They basically just kept telling me to come back,” said Adams, sitting courtside after his career performance in December. “And here we are.”

If only it was that simple.

After riding the bench his freshman season, in 2013-14, Adams tore the labrum in his right hip during summer workouts. The injury required season-ending surgery. 

He then redshirted, rehabbed and returned to the floor in 2015-16. Adams has since undergone two more surgeries: one to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee and the other to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. 

But he didn’t let the setbacks discourage him. 

“I basically just had to keep my head down and keep pushing,” he said. “I mean with me, I knew I wanted to play. I knew I wanted to get on the court, so I knew I had to get over the injuries first before I could do that.” 

His persistence has paid off. The two most recent surgeries sandwiched a solid season last winter in which he consistently saw the floor. But he was still a role player. Now, he is a key player. 

Following an injury to teammate Wyatt Walker, a preseason all-conference selection at center, Adams has become a critical cog in Samford’s lineup. He leads the team in rebounds, helps set the tone on defense and can raise the arena with high-flying dunks. 

That's uncommon production for a player who has traversed an uncommon path. 

“You can’t coach the athleticism that he brings or the character that he has,” Burkett said. “That goes a long way.”